President Woodrow Wilson was one of the founders of the progressive movement — unquestionably one of the most liberal presidents we’ve ever had. But now, progressive protestors at Princeton University are saying Wilson has a “racist legacy,” and want his name removed from their school property.
Yes, the same Woodrow Wilson who served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910. And, Princeton may cave to the protestors’ demands.
Here’s the irony: We agree with the protestors that Wilson was indeed a racist. He praised the KKK, refused to hire blacks when he was Governor of New Jersey, and was a segregationist.
But, what if progressives applied this standard to all leaders? Geoffrey Stone, a left-leaning law professor from the University of Chicago, points out in an op-ed:
The authors doesn’t even mention Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who said, “We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population,” and, “Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race.”
We will probably have to wait quite a while until protestors discover those quotes.
Certainly, it’s funny to laugh at progressives as they start to label their own leaders as intolerant and racist, but it’s not as funny when you realize the next logical step: Discounting the contributions of history because of largely time-related cultural flaws.
Professor Stone also says in his column:
Should Lincoln be booted from his memorial in Washington? Should our founding founders be systematically removed from our currency, statues, and textbooks?
No, and neither should Princeton’s statue of Woodrow Wilson. While it is important to realize the mistakes of these leaders, they are certainly memorialized for some positive impact they had or were perceived to have.
Rewriting a new politically correct history is the work of dictators, not of freethinking individuals. Removing all ideas you disagree with does not provide a full spectrum of discussion.
We have a simple message to these protestors: Instead of trying to ban everything and everyone you find flawed, simply try to educate people on your opinions.
If you feel strongly that Woodrow Wilson was a terrible, racist man (again, we agree), educate your peers on why — don’t tear down years of history.
