A lot has been said about the concept of woke. It is nebulous enough that those who oppose it and those who embrace it have different assessments of what it actually means to be woke. To me it seems like a new puritanism. Woke things are looked through the lenses of critical race and gender theories. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just a common good to be promoted but rather an aspect of identity that it is evil to oppose. That is how woke seems to me. Not only are women and minorities celebrated in woke culture, they are elevated over their historical “oppressors.” Equality has ceased to be the goal in favor of a radical realignment where a dangerous form of social engineering tries to enforce losers and winners. And the losers always need to include all the “dead white men” (DWM).
I first encountered this rebellion against DWM thirty five years ago at Reed College. Naturally the rebellion sometimes got focused on live white men. I did not do well in that environment. Some of that is my fault. I was not prepared to compete with my fellow students on merit. But I also was not supposed to compete with them on intersectionality. I don’t even think that was the word back then, but the kernel of that idea was forming right before my eyes. I watched with a twinge of discomfort as the DWM got painted as everything but noble and valuable. It has only gotten worse over the years.
Value is of course subjective, and people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson certainly had their flaws. The history that I learned as a child was admittedly white washed. It is fair to reassess historical figures. But judging them by a woke lens doesn’t seem to serve a valid purpose. The new puritans want to throw the baby out with the bath water. The very promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are questioned by those who are finally beginning to benefit from that promise. The amazing progress we have made in the USA is seen through a lens of the specters of racism and misogyny. We are better than that, and I wish I could convince both the woke and the anti woke that accurately assessing history means we have a better chance at making the right choices for a brighter future.
Latter Day Sinner 