Blog

Write a one-page essay (typed, double-spaced) that answers the following question:Does removing Columbus statues make the U.S. more democratic or less democratic?Make sure you are answering the question. I am not asking if you personally favor removing the statues. I am asking if taking them down would make the U.S. more democratic. Those two questions overlap but are not the same. “Do you favor?” is an opinion question. You could just answer yes or no and avoid writing the essay. Where’s the fun in that? “Would it be more or less democratic?” requires you to explain yourself. What does democracy mean to you? The people vote on every decision? The people elect people to make decisions on their behalf? Majority rules? All types of people are represented and considered? Does it matter how the statues are removed and what happens to the statues after removal? What about people who want the statues to stay? Do their opinions count? Try to avoid exaggerations, such as “taking down statues will erase history.” Yes, it will erase one way of teaching and learning about history — public statues. But think about your own experience learning about history. Was it all from statues? No. And Columbus statues did not al

ways exist. California’s went up in 1883, almost 400 years after Columbus first set foot in the Bahamas. People learned about history and Columbus long before the statues went up.On the other hand, it is helpful to think about the next logical steps of your argument. If Columbus statues have to come down, then what about the entire country of Colombia, the cities Washington, DC (the District of Columbia) and Columbus, Ohio (and towns in 18 other states), the seven Columbia Counties, the Columbia River, Columbia University, Columbia Records music company, Columbia Pictures movie studio, the space shuttle Columbia? And I have just gotten (Links to an external site.)started (Links to an external site.) with the list.What are the consequences of doing nothing? What if we take down statues but leave all the other things named after Columbus? What message does that send to the world? “You can use his name, but you cannot look at a statue of him”? Has there ever been a public statue that says, “This was a complex person and we should all go to the library and learn more about his many fascinating and disturbing aspects”? Or do all public statues say basically the same thing: “This person was heroic and admirable”?