Simply being in the majority does not necessarily mean liberals must be apathetic. If they had some ultimate goal or higher good to be struggling toward, they might manage to still be active and vital--despite their near-total triumph on this delightful campus.

The Left at Harvard has no broad, overarching philosophy. They suffer from the same problem President Bill Clinton suffers from: they lack "the vision thing." Although these words have evolved into something of a bad joke, they signify the need for a political movement to have some compelling explanation that ties together the important issues it seeks to address.

It is this coherent account which the Left at Harvard seriously lacks. The various liberal groups at Harvard all work towards their individual goals, ignoring the concerns of their liberal brethren. Although his argument as a whole was flawed, William Tate Dougherty '94 was correct when he observed in a Crimson editorial ("Fighting Apathy," opinion, Feb. 2, 1994), that liberal groups at Harvard have not been there for each other.

What is the solution for liberals? To work together and cooperate in areas of shared concern? Unfortunately for them, these goals are easier said then done, because they lack the foundation of a basic shared ideology.

Some liberals might argue: "We do have a common foundation. It's our commitment to the disenfranchised, the marginalized, etc. "But the self-evident idea, "Oppression is bad," is no solid foundation on which to build a movement. Given such a mission, many problems and doubts remain.

What do you when marginalized groups come into conflict with each other? How do you prioritize your struggles when your movement is based on radical equality and radical relativism, with no higher goal? How can you speak of standing up for the disenfranchised when you advocate the murder of 1.5 million babies each year? Being a liberal, when faced with such dilemmas, contradictions and widespread apathy, might not be so great after all.

When determining one's political views, the most important consideration is being true to one's core values. But other factors should also come into play. The message I have for the politically unsure, the fence-sitters, the people who can see themselves as conservatives, is this: Being conservative is a lot more fun.