America in the World
Giving Thanks to Imperfection and Improvement
Besides living in the uncomfortable ship for 66 days with his family, Hopkins was one of the Mayflower Compact’s 41 signatories and served as assistant governor of Plymouth during the colony’s early years. But like the colony and country he helped build, his legacy was imperfect.
American Déjà Vu
Despite these monumental cultural changes, some things are eerily similar. Such indistinguishable change plagues American foreign policy.
The Noose of Betrayal
When I returned to campus, I thought the bigger room should become the bedroom, since people would actually live there. One of my blockmates, who used the designated common room far more than I did, fervently disagreed. On our first day back, a shouting match erupted. Another roommate, who I consider one of my closest friends, was in the room listening. When I asked him if he agreed with me, he demurred. He had no position on the matter.
Your Thesis Might Just Change the World
But at a certain point, when I had requested pulled one too many folders and flipped through one too many files, I had to ask myself, “What is it all for?” I have heard many seniors ask this same question, with perhaps more agony, a week before their thesis was due. But the question does not seem to answer itself even when the thesis is completed. During his 2000 Class Day address at Harvard, comedian Conan O’Brien ’85 mentioned that he had written a thesis but that “no one is ever going to care.” He is probably right. The only person who will care about a thesis is the person who tirelessly researched, drafted, edited, and reviewed your thesis — but that may be more than enough.
