Ode to Joy

Last week, an opinion piece titled “Future Leaders of America?” was written by Julie Chung ’16, claiming that Exeter students had somehow missed the point of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations and several of our recent assembly speakers. According to her, our generation must be “agitators” fighting for equality and rights. Countless assembly speakers (almost every other one) have come to Exeter preaching this same message—that we must dedicate ourselves to others, that we must quite literally sacrifice ourselves and our interests to those of others. By now, after being bombarded with that message for months, it has most likely been accepted as fact by most Exonians. For example, if a CEO were to proclaim that his company worked solely for its own profit, many Exonians would be appalled. Many opinion pieces like “Future Leaders of America?” have been written; this is actually a response to all such op-eds and assembly speakers who condemn Exonians for seeking our own joy before achieving the joy of others, who scorn our self-esteem, and dismiss our intelligence as “privilege.” I am an agitator on behalf of those who haven’t accepted this horrifying message as fact and seek to question the roots of the messages preached to us.First of all, there are several key differences that Julie and others like her (I will call them the ultra-altruists) fail to notice. There is a difference between good activists and bad activists. More activists is not necessarily a good thing—there are activists fighting for true liberty and freedom, such as Dr. King, but then there are those who go an extra step and demand handouts and unearned privileges for the “oppressed” at the expense of innocent taxpayers. There is a difference between non-sibi—a healthy compassion and respect for other peoples’ rights and feelings—and the belief that it is evil for corporations to want to keep more profits for their shareholders. There is a difference between a soldier sacrificing his life for his country’s liberty by choice (a hero), and someone who forces others to sacrifice themselves for them or for “society.” There is a difference between believing that selfishness is bad (which is fine), and attempting to force others to practice those moral beliefs (which is wrong). There is a difference between spending your life trying to end the suffering of others and wanting the government to force others to do the same. These are the differences that last week’s op-ed ignored, as it labelled all “activists” as the same, a force for good.I will not disagree with Chung and the MLK Workshop Speaker Paul Gorski is so far that corporations pay workers “pitiful” wages to make more profit. There is a large difference, however, between forcing workers to work for you through the militias Mr. Gorski discussed, and giving people the option of being paid $7.25 an hour to do work. Is offering someone a job at $6.00 really morally wrong? And even if it is, does that justify using force against the employer? It is certainly morally wrong to throw someone in jail for wanting to pay an employee what they are worth. Stripping someone of their freedom for participating in a free market is not freedom and justice. Chung’s dismissal of the hostility towards the speaker as “ignorant” is an insult to Exonians. Are we supposed to simply accept what we hear as true? Is questioning a horrible argument “ignorant”? Ignorance consists of watching and not doing anything in the face of wrong. Weren’t the “ignorant” students questioning the speaker actually being activists, which Chung considers a good thing? Yes, corporations are morally and legally bound to make as much profit as possible. Chung’s dismissal reveals the irrational nature of extreme altruism. For ultra-altruists, moral creeds are not based on reason, they exist as predicates which cannot be questioned.What is this disease that sneers at “self,” that deems being selfish as evil, and attempts to force its moral beliefs on others? It is a misinterpretation of non-sibi. As I stated earlier, “not for oneself” is meant to be one part of our lives, not a universal law for how we live. If, for example, we went around applying “non-sibi” to every part of our lives, we would be dead, as feeding ourselves would be considered “sibi” and therefore not allowed. Ultra-altruists pick a stance on the more extreme end of the spectrum between a healthy belief in non-sibi and this kind of total non-sibi. They are the ones who want to force the doctrine of “non-sibi” onto corporations and individuals, using the brute force of the government. They attack self esteem. The article stated that “some students might feel threatened that they perhaps are not where they are because of their talents, but because of the privilege with which they were born.” This statement is utterly true— someone trying to take away your accomplishments, to strip you of your intelligent mind, your self-esteem, and your want to be happy should be threatening. Some Exonians are perhaps only Exonians due to privilege, but that privilege only helped them because they had talents. Being born into a “privileged” family does not guarantee an Exeter education, it is a mix of the two. It is easy to understand why ultra-altruists find it so easy to follow non-sibi to the extremes, when they believe that their accomplishments aren’t their own doing. It is easy to understand why they want to take away the self-worth of others when they are convinced to not feel any self-esteem themselves.The message of all ultra-altruists is rooted in the same philosophy. Whether they realize it or not, the belief system that they preach is the one that attacks self-esteem, that denies the individual his rights and his life, and wants to claim you. They view holding one’s life as worthless as the greatest virtue. Do not let them claim your life, do not let them use guilt to take away your self-esteem, and do not let them make you think that it is okay for them to force you to sacrifice your success, your money, and your happiness. Do not think that you need a permit from others to live. Do not trade your earned joy for unearned guilt. Practice non-sibi, but do not let others force you to do so. Do not force others to live by your moral code. Persuade them with words, not guns and jails.