This being my first column for THE HOYA, it seems natural to introduce myself. Doing so is more complicated than it sounds, however, because I take introductions to be political acts. Consider, for example, the way the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be introduced to people all over the country this weekend. He will be described as a man of peace and nonviolence and a man committed to desegregation. But how many celebrations will describe him as a fierce opponent of U.S. wars and U.S. imperialism? How many will describe him as a socialist who demanded economic equality? For that matter, how many will describe his many personal flaws or show him in close and complex relation to his comrades, sometimes leading, sometimes following, sometimes in conflict? These choices matter. They make us remember certain things, encourage focus on particular lessons and teach one version of how change happens in the world and what kind of person contributes to it. So the question is: What do I want you to know about me? Some of you may already have an idea who I am. Perhaps you’ve taken my classes, either in philosophy or in the program on justice and peace. Perhaps you know of me though my involvement in activist politics. Perhaps you read in “The Georgetown Academy,” an independent, conservative student publication, some years ago that I’m the most evil professor on campus. Over the years, I’ve been labeled in many ways by many different people, but here are some labels that I endorse: I’m an anarchist, a rationalist, a feminist, a man, a pragmatist, an evangelical agnostic, a friend, a philosopher, a parent, a teacher, a committed partner of one other person and a nonviolent revolutionary. These labels are all, to different degrees, important to me; they define my sense of self. You could call them my identities, but all are “works in progress,” which is to say that the label stays roughly the same, but my sense of what it means changes and grows. (For example, I still have no idea what I mean by identifying as a man, though over the years I’ve figured out many things I don’t mean. Some days, I wish that one would drop off the list.) But there is another list. It too could be called “my identity,” since it is a summary of how others see me, of the labels that influence my position in society and my level of privilege. This list would feature things like: straight, white, upper middle class, well-educated, professional, married and, of course, citizen of the U.S. empire. If you are going to know who I am – not to be confused with knowing me, which is something that you will not achieve from reading a newspaper column – you really need both lists. As I live my life, the second list is as inescapable as the first is treasured. Regardless of how I define my sexuality, for instance, or of my stubborn refusal to predict who I might be attracted to in the future, society sees me as straight, and thereby normal, and thereby better. Whatever neighborhood I live in, whatever causes I align myself with, whoever my friends are, I will always be granted the privileges of white skin. My economic position means that my daughter can go to the hospital if she needs to, and that I had all the advantages of a fine education. It would be frivolous and disrespectful not to acknowledge one’s privilege, but at the same time, one has an absolute right – indeed, a duty – to do what he can to refuse to endorse undeserved privileges, and to build a life that embraces features that do not demean others. In my case, I embrace the first list. Trying to figure out what these labels mean or better trying to work out definitions of my life by living them, is the project I am engaged in. I never succeed fully. I’m far from my own ideal of a philosopher, or a father, but these are the goals that matter. How good a basketball player I am is inessential to the success of my project. How effectively I teach, how successfully I work for social change – these are the project; they define the journey. So, did that help? Probably not much. “What’s an anarchist? Does that mean you toss bombs and want chaos? What the hell is an evangelical agnostic? Why is `partner’ on the first list and `married’ on the second?” Good questions, but I get 900 words, maximum, so we’ll leave them as homework. (On the other hand, my office is easy to find if you want to talk.) In the next weeks, I’ll be discussing education, Georgetown University and a number of social issues that concern us. My fondest hope is to annoy you enough with my thoughts that you have lots and lots of them yourself. Please feel free to argue, to disagree, to denounce or, if the impulse strikes you, to join me on some piece of the journey. ark Lance is a professor in the philosophy department. He can be reached at lancethehoya.com. COGNITIVE DISSENT appears every other Friday.