Some cultural relativism necessary when looking at past

Last week, Brown University faculty voted successfully to abolish the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day from its calendar, replacing it with a "Fall Weekend." This stemmed from hundreds of Brown University students petitioning the university to stop observing the holiday citing "Christopher Columbus's violent treatment of Native Americans he encountered as inconsistent with Brown's values."

In an ironic twist of faux activism, the university did not change the actual date of the October vacation, because it wanted "to avoid inconveniencing staff whose children might have the holiday off." Thus, despite boycotting Columbus in name, the actual holiday that the rest of us will be observing will still be celebrated with a day off from school at Brown. Even though this 15th century man's values are inconsistent with Brown's enlightened student body, the date on everyone's calendar apparently is not. The trends of today's youth activism seem to stir up like a new YouTube video that will be watched repeatedly until the Internet browser takes too long to load and it begins to inconvenience updating your Facebook status. Convenience-based activism aside, this case suggests a lack of ability to disseminate historical context from cultural symbolism.

Should George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have their faces removed from Mount Rushmore for their ownership of slaves? Lewis and Clark paved the way for western expansion which led to further cruelty and exploitation to befall Native Americans, not to mention the near extinction of American bison. Does that warrant ignoring the great feats accomplished by such men? Lacrosse, invented by North American natives like the Cherokee and Mohawks, involved using the decapitated heads of their slain enemies in lieu of a ball. Should their values be judged by the standard of a society developed hundreds of years later? Jefferson is not remembered as a founding father of this nation for buying and selling fellow humans and declaring them his property. He is remembered for his role in the formation of the United States, like writing the Declaration of Independence, in spite of the act of slave ownership, which was deemed appropriate and legal, at the time. It is unfair to judge figures in absolute terms and to hold them to the values of a social system they didn't even know would come to exist.

Just because playing lacrosse with human body parts would not bode well as a new intramural sport does not mean that native culture or its role in history should be written off. Likewise, despite the harsh treatment Columbus subjugated Native Americans to, which no doubt is deplorable especially in today's standards, does not mean that he should be ignored for the great things he did accomplish. Although he did bring cruelty, he still did discover the land that would become our nation. He was the first to take the huge risk of sailing west and his discovery did lead the way for the age of exploration and the foundation of the American colonies.

Columbus's acts of murder and enslavement are no secret and are well known to those with a degree of historical knowledge. He is remembered today for his contributions to discovering America. His actions led the way to the North American colonies, the American Revolution and eventually, the United States of America. That is the reason for his acknowledgement and herein lays the folly of those Brown students. Along with tertiary education comes the ability to delve deeper into concepts and history that had previously seemed simple, like Columbus discovering America, and challenging and thinking critically about preconceived notions. That is the role of a university education. The role of a national holiday, however, is to note an important event or person that has contributed to the national heritage. It is to gain, at a symbolic level, a sense of national culture, tradition and history.

If that distinction cannot be seen and the goal is to ensure that every recognized historical figure is in appropriate alignment with the values held by some today, then perhaps the students at Brown should look toward themselves. The Brown family, after whom the school was named, was involved in numerous business ventures in Rhode Island, including the slave trade. If a long weekend in October cannot bear the name of an enslaver, can an institution with such an impeccable sense of moral values and justice do the same?