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Contributors
Doug Gamble- Contributor
Doug
Gamble is a former writer for President Ronald Reagan and
resides
in Carmel. [go to Gamble index]
 Berkeley’s
Loony Left
Purging dead Presidents…
[Doug Gamble] 3/30/05
The loony
left is at it again in The Peoples’ Republic
of Berkeley. An April vote will be held by parents, teachers
and students at the city’s Thomas Jefferson Elementary
School on whether to change the school’s name because Jefferson
owned slaves.
Teacher Marguerite
Hughes, part of a group that began pushing for the change two
years ago via petition said, “It’s
an awkward position to ask African-American children and teachers
to celebrate a historical figure who was a slave-owner.” Of
course, as products of the California educational system, it’s
unlikely the students have a clue who Jefferson is.
This latest salvo
by the left in a continuing crusade of destructive political
correctness is misguided in that it ignores the temper
of the times. Slave ownership was common for men in Jefferson’s
social and economic circles, including George Washington and
other prominent Southerners. Jefferson inherited his Monticello
estate on which slaves were kept from his father.
Customs matter in
evaluating historical figures. Suppose the death penalty is
eventually abolished and virtually all Americans
come to look back at the practice with revulsion. Will the name
of a death penalty proponent such as Ronald Reagan, or even Bill
Clinton, be removed from schools or public buildings because
the former presidents weren’t “enlightened” during
their time?
Since American history
is no longer taught in any meaningful way in most school systems,
and many teachers would prefer their
students know less about the Founding Fathers and more about
Mother Jones, the students at Jefferson Elementary can’t
appreciate the greatness of the man for whom their school was
named. Author of the Declaration of Independence, secretary of
state under Washington and later the third president of the United
States, Jefferson was a philosopher, architect, musician, scientist,
horticulturist, diplomat, inventor, historian and, at age 76,
founder of the University of Virginia.
There’s certainly no place for the name of a bum like
that on a school. “It’s very clear that the name
is offensive to a significant part of the population,” teacher
Hughes said. That flushing sound you hear is American history
going down the commode, with the likes of this “educator” pushing
the handle.
This will not be
the first name change at a Berkeley school. In the late 1990’s
a school named for Christopher Columbus was rebuilt as Rosa
Parks Elementary and more recently Abraham
Lincoln Elementary was changed to Malcolm X. Since Lincoln opposed
slavery his sin must have been the fact he was a Republican.
Among the names of
possible replacements for Jefferson Elementary are those of
Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche and farm worker
organizer Cesar Chavez. Berkeley being Berkeley, it’s surprising
the likes of Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Jane Fonda and Michael
Moore are not being considered. Maybe I shouldn’t give
them ideas.
Berkeley is the place that vies with San Francisco for the
title of most anti-American of American cities. In recent times,
remember, Berkeley City Council has opposed any U.S. military
action in the wake of 9/11, blamed the U.S. for creating conditions
that invited terrorist attacks, offered sanctuary to conscientious
objectors, banned the U.S. flag from city fire engines, tried
to enforce a boycott of Israel and barred a Boy Scout troop from
visiting City Hall because the Boy Scouts of America does not
allow gay leaders.
When the upcoming
school vote is held, participants will be asked to choose between
retaining the Thomas Jefferson name or
one alternative, yet to be decided. With apparently little or
no consideration given to historical context, I’m afraid
this is one election that Jefferson will not win.
Another thing that sets him apart is having his picture on
the two dollar bill -- a commodity as rare as common sense in
Berkeley. tRO
California-based Doug Gamble contributed speech material to
Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and writes a twice-monthly
column for the Orange County Register and CaliforniaRepublic.org.
Copyright
2004 Doug Gamble
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