Monday, May 10, 2021

Youthful Judgmentalism and "Woke" Culture

Christopher Columbus statue in Newport, RI

“Extraordinary creatures you young people are, altogether. The past you hate, the present you despise, and the future is a matter of indifference. How do you suppose that can lead to any good end?” 

Erich Maria Remarque, Three Comrades (1938)
 
Yesterday I decided to go for a drive and catch up on some podcasts I've fallen behind on. It was a fairly nice day so I ended up driving through Newport, Rhode Island. As I came I was stopped at a traffic light I noticed a statue of man immediately to my left that I had never noticed before. From the side he appeared as a man from the Renaissance period, holding a globe in his right hand and at the base of the statue I could make out the word "Pinta". Immediately I realized it was Christopher Columbus. And as soon as I realized it was Columbus, I wondered how this statue has managed to survive "cancel culture", so I looked it up online, and predictably I read how in 2020 the mayor proposed for it to be replaced by "another Italian", since it was put up by the Italian community in the 1950's.