I remember the moment I decided I would join The Cavalier Daily’s Opinion section. It was the summer after my second year, and I was thinking about politics seriously for the first time. Sure, I knew my family voted Republican, and Republicans are traditionally conservative. And I did my part for my team in eighth and 12th grade, arguing with the kids whose parents voted for the Democratic candidates that McCain and Romney were clearly superior. I, of course, had no idea what I was talking about. But I enjoyed arguing and I knew the basic Republican talking points so it was good wholesome fun.
But here I was in the summer of 2015, fresh off two political philosophy courses and closely following the developing presidential election. I discovered that I liked knowing more about politics than mere slogans, and I liked reading more than just the “Game of Thrones” books (yes, I know that isn’t the official name of the series). I wasn’t sure what I would do with this deeper knowledge, besides maybe seek out more political debates with my friends, but I knew I wanted to expand it and hopefully find a way to use it. It was pretty fortuitous then that as I sat sprawled out on the couch, taking a break from reading Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer’s book “Things that Matter,” I came across a peculiar article on The Cavalier Daily’s website.
It was a column by former Executive Editor, Nazar Aljassar, titled “End Inheritance, Support Meritocracy.” Like all of Nazar’s columns, it was impeccably written. I just couldn’t believe the argument. A 100 percent estate tax, on everyone? I knew The Cavalier Daily was liberal, but man, this was nuts!
I looked back at my Krauthammer book, which was not a typical nonfiction book but rather a collection of his columns and essays spanning his decades-long writing career. He made writing seem easy, and he coined an axiom that stuck out to me: “Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.” I turned back to my computer screen, read a few more columns on The Cavalier Daily website — all advancing a left-liberal argument of some form or another — and I reached my decision. I’d write for the Opinion section to (1) demonstrate why I found many of these arguments stupid and (2) convince The Cavalier Daily audience that I was not evil.
I’m not sure if I succeeded in either goal. But I can say that it was well worth the effort. Writing is difficult. Not just because it is challenging to find a voice, be concise or argue persuasively, but because it forces the writer to determine what he or she actually believes. And as it turns out, it is much easier to simply know how you feel than know what you think. I read things all the time that leave me feeling hostile if not to the writer then at least to the argument. But generally, until I sit down and begin writing a response, my hodgepodge of emotions doesn’t crystallize into anything like a coherent alternative to the idea I find disagreeable, or even an explanation of why I disagree in the first place.
And so — to offer some direction to this meandering farewell column — I’ll relay some unsolicited advice. If you want to know what you think and why you think it, try writing it out. The Internet is providing contradictory answers, but it appears either George Orwell or Oscar Wilde said: “If you cannot write well, you cannot think well; if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.” I have also heard a similar quote, apparently courtesy of historian David McCullough: “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard." At any rate, the message is the same, and it’s one worth absorbing. I would still be the cartoon ideologue I was before college if writing never forced me to understand why I think what I think. I’m probably still a partisan hack, but hopefully less of one now than I otherwise would have become if I had never joined this paper.
I’m struggling with this last paragraph. Ideally I’d sum up my two-year experience with The Cavalier Daily, offer some profound wisdom applicable to any younger students reading this piece and close with a memorable, inspirational final sentence. I’m struggling to do any of that, so I will just say this: Thank you, Cavalier Daily, for giving me a platform. It is fun to grumble about the Opinion section’s suffocating liberalism, but when I attended my first information session and made my pitch to provide a right-wing perspective to the section, the editors were nothing but hospitable and encouraging. They’ve remained that way ever since — even as I disseminate my evil, Koch brother-funded ideology one column at a time. So for anyone now who, like me two years ago, finds yourself constantly flabbergasted by the arguments advocated in this section, join the paper. You, and hopefully The Cavalier Daily too, will be much better off for it.
Matt Winesett was the 127th Senior Associate Opinion Editor and an Opinion columnist at The Cavalier Daily.
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