North From Here wrote:
Pretty even-handed treatment on the misguided movement to remove Woodrow Wilson from Princeton's history: loved this line
Quote:
The students, about 15 of whom occupied the current president’s office in protest, are also insisting that the university impose a course on “the history of marginalized peoples,” which, if you haven’t spent much time on an elite campus lately, is also known as the entire humanities curriculum.
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/don-39-t-erase-woodrow-wilson-1307774047436854.htmlThat was probably the most intelligent article that I've ever read on Yahoo and I think the author's suggestion is a fair compromise.
Personally, I really enjoyed this quote:
Quote:
This, amid a rash of similar protests around the country, is what university educators everywhere might call a “teachable moment” — if only they can summon the courage to actually teach.
As the author alluded to, history is indeed a messy business and there are no figures in ancient or modern times that could exist in the Disney-esque perfection that so many young people seem to be demanding nowadays. We go back to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's image and influence loom large in the public conscience and his words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" form the very foundation of the American identity. His statues and engraved likenesses stand for his myriad of accomplishments and debt in the creation of the Republic not for his personal faults, of which there were many. Jefferson wasn't a cruel man and didn't relish in the dehumanization or suffering of African people. He was actually instrumental in the country's efforts to criminalize the international slave trade and the eventual ban of the practice. Jefferson didn't push for the abolition of slavery largely due to his fears of a freedmen rebellion and to the economic stability which slavery provided to Southern plantation owners, himself included. Jefferson's debts were many and, selfish though it may be, the monetary collateral provided by his slaves was essential in keeping him out of financial ruin. But Jefferson wasn't the only president to have dealings in the practice of slavery. George Washington bought and sold slaves his entire life and U.S. Grant's family owned slaves until the practice was abolished in 1865. Do we remove their statues and likenesses as well? How about Martin Luther King, Jr. who was a womanizer and a known plagiarist? No. Teachable moments, folks. We understand their great triumphs and learn from their mistakes and take their thoughts and actions in the context of their own time. As the author states, these students have grown up in a time that eschews moral complexity. They see the world in black and white extremes, no pun intended. Time for educators to stop placating the children and impart some actual life lessons that will carry over into their students' adult lives.