Campus Reform: San Francisco State University

Could you imagine the outcry from the media and establishment liberals if protesting conservatives invaded and occupied public buildings, blocked freeway and public foot traffic, pulled fire alarms, surrounded people trapped in their cars, broke windows, and set fire to garbage cans?

This list isn't a random collection of events pieced together from the last several WTO meetings. All of this happened at UC and CSU campuses on the day of and leading up to the March 4th "Strike" for "Education".

Sadly, the left almost universally gets a free pass from blame or criticism when their loonies take to the streets. Championing an ideology that shames private property, individual rights and limited government will naturally give rise to a contingent of entitled people with an anything goes mentality.

This is not a stereotype I'm peddling. We're not talking about run-of-the-mill liberals in this neck of the woods; we're talking about mainstream campus-based organizations comprised of Socialists, Marxists, Trotskyites and Maoists. To these activists, the many atrocities of Communism are not nearly as bad as the fact that people make unequal amounts of money in our country.

Some qualifications are in order: Some leftists are actually very nice and sincere people who have honest disagreements with conservatives and libertarians. You will almost never hear that said in return, of course, and this is why Tea Parties and citizens attending health care town hall meetings are said to be examples of overt racism, while the radical left's illegal antics are just the frustrated voice of the people and we should take it lying down.

Do I bring all this up just to stoke outrage? No. It's because you have to be better than this rabble to break through on your campus and in the community. A lot better. I strongly dislike just about everything that happened on March 4th for two reasons:

1. As much as we all want students getting active, it is much easier to subscribe to a movement for free stuff than it is to be involved in a movement for freedom. Free stuff is based on the fallacy that a high degree of certainty can be achieved with no apparent sacrifice. Anyone who thinks that old quote about trading liberty for security is just about authoritarianism should consider it in economic terms.
2. It worked like a charm.

Everything they've done is being subtly legitimized and given the go-ahead, including the plethora of far leftist policies that were packaged with this protest allegedly about education.

Nobody is going to give you the same luxury. Don't be discouraged by what I'm about to say, but beware, that a lot of people already think you are stupid for being a conservative. Heck, some people who might even agree with your politics will figure you must be stupid to out yourself on campus! Walking right into their punch line and being clichéd is not an option.

Don't just bring your "A game," because their C-minus game will be graded very generously in comparison.

I am a real believer that the most important contribution you can make to the future of the conservative movement is to corner the left about departures from their own alleged value system and offer a better idea. I don't often call many of our opponents liberals because except for their application of government "solutions" to our lives, they are anything but.

If the Marxists think it's bad that most of the media in the U.S. is run by four or five conglomerates, then why would it be better if we only had one state media outlet?

If the Students for Justice in Palestine favor terror over liberty, then maybe it would behoove other students to know about the lack of social freedom in the theocratic countries of the Middle East.

If an environmental group on your campus is all about sustainability and progress, then why do they support subsidizing dirty, inefficient, and unproven technologies?

Conservatives should not only have a say about economic justice, equality, human rights and the environment, they should have more to say. 

You should also be vigilant in reporting leftist abuses and biases on your campus through Campus Reform, your student newspaper, and even sometimes with your administration or legal organizations. Keep a video camera with you at your events in case there are disruptions of free speech or damage to property. Expose class lectures, exams, and reading materials that assume a strong leftward reading of academic topics. Free speech and thought is supposed to be a hallmark of true liberalism. Leftism -- not so much.

Finally, instead of me telling you what to do all the time, why don't you call or write me or one of the several other Campus Reform Staff Members and tell us what you want do?

We'll be glad to offer free, personal assistance to help you reach your goals of developing alternative ideas and organizations that are so sorely lacking on so many campuses.

Effectively countering leftist programs like the March 4th strike is not something that happens overnight. Let us know how we can help you get started today.