Students should not let their fears hinder them
By Brooklyn Smith | Sep. 18, 2017Happy Emperor Norton Day y’all. September 17 marks the day in 1859 that a San Franciscan named Joshua Norton declared himself emperor of the United States. The truly remarkable part of Norton’s story is not that he declared himself a sovereign entity, but that nearly the entirety of San Francisco went along with it. He was never allowed real political power, but he was respected to the point that he ate at fine dining establishments for free, always had a reserved place at plays and even got out of an arrest for insanity because the public outcry was so vociferous that the chief of police issued a formal apology; from then on, the police would apparently salute him on sight, likely relieved (I’m not joking) to have been granted an imperial pardon. Because he was short on money after running afoul of the Peruvian rice market, he created his own tender which was useable in the city, briefly declared himself Protector of Mexico, and when a dog that was associated with him (one of two dogs who were local celebrities for reasons unrelated to Norton) died, the writer of its eulogy was none other than Mark Twain, who also based the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn character the King on Norton. Upon Emperor Norton’s death, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life,” and, depending on the source, his funeral had at least 10,000 mourners. September 17 also marks the day before the second full week of class, when stress kicks into high gear. In order to make the best of this year, whether you’re nearly ready to graduate or are one of seemingly 15,000 freshmen, I recommend looking to Emperor Norton’s lessons on success. The first tip you should take from Norton is to take control. Just from taking a quick look at Facebook, one of the biggest stressors right now is our political climate; many of us are on a pendulum, swinging from disgust toward the Trump administration to a deep sense of exhaustion that comes from being too immersed in the political world for too long. According to Psychology Today’s unintentionally scathing blog post “How to Cope With Trump Anxiety” written by Steven Stosny, Ph.D, “anxiety and nervousness arise when we feel powerless.” The article further stresses the importance of empowering ourselves and focusing on what we can control. Emperor Norton took a stand in the name of common sense, and was also sick of political sparring; one of his royal decrees thus abolished the Democratic and Republican parties.
