I “came out” as a leftist when I was 16 years old, after what was probably the most defining moment thus far in the development of my political thought. After new information surfaced in the case of Julius Jones, a then-death-row inmate who has maintained his innocence for decades, I urged our governor to stay Jones’ execution. But within conservative spaces like my home state of Oklahoma, moderate beliefs such as mine are quickly amplified and depicted as leftist extremism. Conservative trolls across the internet called for my suspension, stating that I was the product of an “indoctrination system,” and there were comments exclaiming that we should be beaten and sprayed akin to the torture endured by civil rights activists of the 1960s. Others claimed our objections were the product of an all-too-familiar conservative buzzword: critical race theory.
Coming to Brown and existing within a primarily left-of-center environment has introduced me to the political spectrum outside of the confines of my upbringing. With this came the necessity to reevaluate my political identification to understand myself within a new political context. Given the vast differences in political understandings across our country, it is vital that we do not resist these shifts in our political identifications.
Left-of-center Southerners are accustomed to this sort of vilification, and conservative television personalities make sure we don’t forget. Still, the impact this has on young people in conservative spaces is rarely discussed. The need to overcompensate within adverse political environments convinced me of my radicalism when in reality, my beliefs were closer to the party line. Despite never having read a textbook on political theory or not knowing much at all about the plethora of “isms” that permeate our Ivy League halls, I, at the age of 16, confidently adopted the title of leftist to counteract the predominantly conservative views I faced at home. If, according to Facebook User235647, advocating against unjust executions made me a leftist, why shouldn’t I be?
In an environment where my political ideology was assumed and therefore taken for granted, my being a leftist in reaction to the conservative status quo evolved as a sort of psychological defense mechanism. When surrounded not simply by conservatism but by those who disagreed with my very being, there was a sense of being “on guard.” A wall was put up at too young an age, solidifying beliefs I didn’t completely understand in the name of self-protection.
For my freshman seminar, I had the pleasure of taking The Politics of Race and the Criminal Justice System taught by Paul Testa. I expected to be the radical force when speaking of prison reform but found myself among a cacophony of abolitionists — a definite separation between the leftist and liberal ideologies. The excitement and fear I had when answering my first question quickly dissipated as my classmates “out liberal’d” me.
Over the course of my freshman year at Brown, I began to notice something: my shield of certainty was beginning to drop and my ideological armor showed signs of rusting. For the first time in my life, I existed within a predominantly liberal setting, where my defensive postures were no longer required, and that same sense of vigilance that once enabled me to identify threats now provided the ability to question and reconsider my own beliefs. Brown University, despite its very real tendency to be an echo chamber of liberal ideologies, allowed me room to breathe; it provided the space and time to truly interrogate what it means to be a leftist without the pressure to defend my stances against immense opposition. I found myself 1,516 miles from home and in the middle of a political reawakening.
So, to my fellow Southern Liberals who find themselves in new political environments, or anyone feeling a pull to the center, don’t be afraid to change your mind. Many of us who arrived in these spaces expecting our views to be reinforced, too, found our perspectives changing in unexpected ways. As we lay down our arms and embrace these changes, our beliefs can become more fluid, and we become open to change in directions that would’ve been unfathomable, even to me, in 2021.
Christian Davis ’27 can be reached at christian_davis@brown.edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
