Judging History (branch off from election thread)

[gaelic cowboy]

Because both you and Washington have acted within the societal norms. Back then it was normal to be a slaveowner, now it's not. By not being a slaveowner today you're not breaking any new ground, you're not going the extra mile for anyone, you're just acting within the norms of the society. And getting into a bout of self-righteousness vs George Washington does not make you a better man.

Being a slave owner and apparently defender of slavery in both parliment and foreign policy certainly could be said to make Washinton a worse man than ACIN though.


The question then becomes does this limit Washington as an American hero, to my mind the answer is no IF we accept he was a man and not a founding god. If the state is evolving onward over time to a better place then Washington is merely a hero of his time(flawed but still a hero nonetheless)

However if as many like to believe the state was purest at it's founding then many of Washingtons actions are a problem only solved by revision or closing ones eyes.


I see no contradiction in the idea that Washington can still be an American hero despite what we now know of him, basically he gets the nod from me because by all accounts he eventually came to see slavery for what it was.