The War of Ideas

By Sean DeWitt

--A word to all interns and college students taking a break from their studies--

There exists within the halls and corridors of America’s great universities a Great War—the War of Ideas. It is a horrific war with lots of casualties, mostly freshmen, who get caught in the crossfire before they find the right office door to duck behind for cover. The most confusing part about this war is that it is not just one war. No, it is an intricate set of ongoing conflicts between colleges, schools, professors, and students, each with their individual alliances and treaties. Amidst these brawls is the age old conflict over the role of government in a society—a conflict the United States has fervently carried on for the past 233 years.

Working at Catholic Charities this summer, I have had the opportunity to work first hand with the step-children of the many treatises’ that have been made during the war. Though the war in America has seemingly ended with the Great Society and the New, New Deal, the wounds are deep and one can still hear the whispers of Samuel Adams and Alexander Hamilton.

As I sit in my cubical—an old fox hole perhaps?—I wonder which side to take. Back at the university I used the likes of Locke, Jefferson and Washington, as my cover against the likes of Marx, Roosevelt, and Keynes. But here one must lay aside his weapons. Here on the home front, the enemy is more like the ally. Here, I find peace and generosity amongst the two sides—a seemingly permanent ceasefire that has blossomed into a working relationship. Within the walls of Catholic Charities, unlike those of the university, I find diplomatic meetings over common goals, rather than on each other differences. Instead of holding opposition against the other, there is recognition of a common end, the end to poverty, hunger, sickness, and homelessness. And thus, both sides work to achieve that goal together, so that the war may end once and for all. Because here where big government meets limited government, the two sides understand that an end to poverty means a victory for everyone. Both sides realize that under the tent with the red and white cross, they are both here to serve the same need, the same purpose, and the same people. The only crossfire here is friendly fire.

Fortunately, during the War of Ideas, like the wars of old, there is a winter season, which calls us back home from the halls and corridors of the university for a permanent three month cease fire. Though our winter is more like a summer scorch, these three months give us valuable new knowledge—knowledge of practicality and real world application. Some never come back from this respite, others return only to fight with even more tenacity, but some return as medics, hoping to heal the wounds instead of make them. Whatever the case, without this new knowledge and experience from the home front, the war would be a total loss.

So fellow interns, you hardy soldiers of college, tend to your wounds and study your strategies. Observe what is around you and see what makes the world run. For we will all be back in the fall, and the fight will presume once again. The battles will come, the arguments will fly, the ramparts will fall, and when each sides hunkers down for the 4 month siege, may we all be warriors of peace, fighting behind the same door—the door of Charity and Love.