Ideas Need to Matter More Than Identity
MINOT, N.D. — Recently, the folks at Minot State University invited me to take part in another of their Campus and Community Dialogues.
This is the second time I’ve been invited — the first event focused on the role of humanities on the modern campus — and each time the discussion was as illuminating as it was civil.
The most recent discussion focused on the controversy around statues. This year we’ve seen mobs of protesters pulling down statues, often of figures associated with the Confederacy or individuals involved in things like slavery.
It’s a worthy topic. I argued for due process for statues, not mobs tearing them down, but the event’s title gave me pause. “Statues of Dead White Men, Do They Matter?” it asked.
