Unity requires a shift from revenge to justice

From the column: “People are getting tired of division and revenge politics. But vague calls for unity and healing avoid dealing with underlying issues. It’s way too simplistic to blame all this anger on one politician or another, or even one political party or another.”

By Dave Berger

February 19, 2021 at 12:00 PM

The one thing most Americans agree on is how hopelessly divided our nation is today. The different factions feel devalued and ignored by the others. They feel each victory of the “enemy” is a loss for them.

A large portion of our population felt a sense of relief at the peaceful and legal inauguration of our new president. They felt their voices had finally been heard. They felt a heavy weight had been taken off them and that they could breathe again.

A large portion of our population felt fear and apprehension as our new president was sworn in, however. They felt their voices would soon be left unheard. They felt a heavy weight had been placed upon them, making it difficult for them to breathe again.

Calling for unity and healing now is premature. We have not come to grips yet on the current state of our society. We are not yet willing to realize that we have given up on seeking justice but instead now are driven by revenge.

Our current situation reminds me of the tragic heroes in William Shakespeare’s play, “Titus Andronicus” (circa 1588-93). His bloodiest and most violent work, it is a revenge play first performed at the Rose Theatre in London on Jan. 24, 1594. The title character, Titus Andronicus, is a Roman general who is twisted up in a cycle of revenge with Tamora, Queen of the Goths, that results in 14 murders and seven other graphic acts of violence.

When Titus’ brother Marcus Andronicus saw the carnage resulting from the unbridled vengeance, he said to his brother, “O brother, speak with possibilities, and do not break into these deep extremes.” In response, Titus said, “Is not my sorrow deep, having no bottom? Then be my passions bottomless with them.”

Both factions in America have broken into deep extremes. Both factions have seen deep sorrow without end. Both factions feel they must act on their limitless and righteous passions.

This is how a cycle of revenge is born. Before we can even speak of unity, we must refocus from revenge to justice. We cannot just want to defeat the other side but must ask the question: What is best for the nation as a whole?

Marcus also said to Titus: “But yet let reason govern thy lament.” Reason must constrain our desire for revenge against the other side. Reason dictates that we must ask what the other side wants.

One side wants more equity for all oppressed people in America, no matter who they are or where they are from. They want to decrease racial, social, and economic injustice by reforming law enforcement and other agents of authority. They want to hold those in power accountable for their abuses of power.

One side wants a guarantee of individual liberties over the coalition of overly politically correct liberal corporations, media, lawyers, and professors. They want to break the establishment groupthink that devalues the need for law and order. They want to hold those in power accountable for their abuses of power.

People are getting tired of division and revenge politics. But vague calls for unity and healing avoid dealing with underlying issues. It’s way too simplistic to blame all this anger on one politician or another, or even one political party or another. Those entities can stoke the division, but they didn’t create it.

The solution then, really, isn’t just to get rid of one personality or another. It goes far deeper than that. We have to deal with issues of inequity before there can be unity. We have to deal with issues of the infringement of free speech before there can be unity.

When it comes down to it, we haven’t put forward the effort it takes to make lasting change. We are trying to jump to unity and healing without the necessary foundation of right action and trust.

Yes, we’ve changed a few sports teams’ names and replaced a few politicians, but we have not yet begun the real work.

Dave Berger of Plymouth, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor who taught for nearly three decades at Inver Hills Community College. He also is a regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Carnival of distractions marked by endless sideshow investigations

From the column: “These politicians are like an infinite stream of clowns coming out of a Volkswagen. They distract us from the reality that they cannot get any lawmaking done.”

Opinion by Dave Berger

February 17, 2023 at 8:46 AM

I remember as a youth visiting fairs and hearing the booming voices of carnival barkers on the midway trying to divert my attention from the games and rides and into their sideshows. “Right this way to witness a most magnificent spectacle!” Sword swallowing, the Bonnie and Clyde Death Car, and the giant rat were all advertised as more exciting than anything else I’d ever seen anywhere, anytime, anyhow.

I was being enticed to explore the improbable, the fantastic, and the macabre.

Nationwide today, we are experiencing a carnival of distractions with various politicians barking at us to come see their intense and righteous sideshow investigations of their most loathsome and diabolical opponents. We are promised a spectacular discovery of multiple crimes and offenses with follow-ups of convictions and prison time for all evildoers. We are told we shall see the secrets of collusion with China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela.

In the last six years, these political, investigatory freak shows have permeated the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel and the U.S. House of Representatives, all of them promising the exposure of grandiose scandals. None of them have resulted in any tangible results.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed on May 17, 2017, during the administration of President Donald Trump to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. After a two-year investigation that cost more than $32 million, Mueller concluded his work and submitted his final report on March 22, 2019, to U.S. Attorney General William Barr. On March 24, Barr submitted a summary of this report to the U.S. Congress, which concluded that “the Special Counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”

Like a 19th-century flea-circus sideshow, the Mueller investigation looks more now like an optical illusion operated by a showman than a real performance.

In May 2019, Attorney General Barr appointed John Durham to investigate the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which led to the Mueller investigation. Fantastic! A sideshow to investigate the investigators!

After a 3½-year investigation into the FBI that cost more than $6.5 million, Special Counsel Durham failed as well. His efforts led to just three indictments, with two of those leading to acquittals and the third to a guilty plea resulting in probation. These results are smaller than the top hat worn by Gen. Tom Thumb in P.T. Barnum’s sideshow.

Not to be outdone by the Office of Special Counsel, the U.S. House of Representatives has launched two sensational select committees in the last two years.

First, the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol was created on July 1, 2021. After 10 televised public hearings and hundreds of interviews, depositions, and subpoenas, the Jan. 6 committee filed its final report on Dec. 23. In the conclusion of that report, the committee made a criminal referral to the Justice Department to investigate Trump in relation to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Not exactly an earth-shaking conclusion. The Justice Department is already investigating Trump over Jan. 6. Additionally, the department can and has ignored such a referral.

Second, the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government was created on Jan. 10. This committee promises to be grander and more far reaching than the last. Its collective goal includes the comprehensive investigation of “the Deep State.”

Now that’s a great name for a sideshow! Step this way and get a peak of the never-seen-before “Deep State!” They can sell T-shirts.

These politicians are like an infinite stream of clowns coming out of a Volkswagen. They distract us from the reality that they cannot get any lawmaking done. P.T. Barnum would be impressed.

Dave Berger of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor, a freelance writer and author, and a regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Defunding police failed; time for practical change

From the column: “We need to stop using inflammatory rhetoric.”

By Dave Berger

November 12, 2021 at 12:00 PM

The citizens of Minneapolis decisively rejected the notion of defunding their police department. Earlier this month, in a free and open election with the largest municipal turnout in over 40 years, the voters defeated city ballot question No. 2, 56.1% to 43.8%. This massive bureaucratic measure to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety was deemed unacceptable by Minneapolitans.

Ballot question No. 2 was worded for failure. It explicitly indicated that the city of Minneapolis may no longer employ police. It stated that the new public safety department “could include licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety.” If this new agency deemed that police were not necessary, however, there would no longer be police in Minneapolis.

This attempt to defund the police failed in large part because many people of color on the north side of Minneapolis voiced their support for police protection. They did not see defunding as some academic abstract call for racial justice. They saw it as a practical dismantling of their safety in the presence of rising crime rates.

Many defund activists are so frustrated with failed police reforms that they believe the only way to achieve real change is to wipe away current police departments. For the last year or two, the phrase “defund the police” has made activists feel empowered. At the same time, however, the very communities of color these activists swore to protect became victims of both rising crime rates and the fear that comes from the threat of removing police protection.

The “defund the police” city ballot measure lost, in large part, because it tried to do too much too quickly without the support of the community. It was an overreach by activists who are uninterested in realistic coalition-building. Instead, they chose the easy route of supporting an extreme position that made them feel empowered.

They gambled on all or nothing, and they got nothing.

This is the same basic reason that police reform on the national level has also failed. Take, for example, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 and 2021. These two congressional bills were an attempt on the national level to change police behavior to achieve more racial justice. Both bills were passed in the U.S. House of Representatives but later defeated in the more conservative U.S. Senate.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act did not fail because it doesn’t have any effective methods to reduce police abuse and racial discrimination. It most certainly does. It includes, for example, the requirements that federal uniformed police officers have to wear body cameras and that federal police vehicles have to be equipped with dashboard cameras. It also would prohibit federal officers from using chokeholds or other carotid holds and from issuing no-knock warrants. And it calls for legal changes to make federal police more accountable for racial discrimination.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act failed to pass because it demanded a great deal more than these needed reforms. Its expansiveness included major modifications to existing federal policing laws and the creation of a whole new bureaucratic structure. The bill also called for the restriction of qualified immunity for officers without considering the unintended legal consequences of such an action.

To achieve real change, we need to reject the overreaching failed paths of both the activists in Minneapolis and their counterparts on the national level. Instead, we need to learn from the successes that have occurred, and we need to model that behavior.

Racial-equality activists in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, population 30,849, provided us with a more realistic blueprint for success and practical change. Their Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution was passed by the Brooklyn Center City Council on May 15 on a vote of 4-1 and was supported by the mayor. This new ordinance creates a new city agency, the Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. However, the purpose of this department is quite specific, and its mission is tied directly to a citizens oversight committee, the Community Safety and Violence Prevention Committee.

This more practical approach and inclusion of direct citizen input should be more effective and long lasting than the more heavy-handed, bureaucratically detached, and expansive failed policing proposals.

One success that came from the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Resolution has already happened. On Sept. 28, Brooklyn Center issued a citation-and-release policy which instructs police officers to release offenders cited for low-level crimes to avoid escalating minor traffic violations into deadly-force situations.

Brooklyn Center is on its way to a practical approach to reducing racial discrimination in police behavior. We need to stop using inflammatory rhetoric like “defund the police.” Let’s move on to real action that reduces racial inequity in policing and that provides a path forward with collective community-based changes.

Dave Berger of Plymouth, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor who taught for nearly three decades at Inver Hills Community College. He also is a regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Stop weaponizing ‘woke,’ other words of adversaries

From the column: “As adults, we have learned to use our words. Unfortunately, we have also learned to misuse other people’s words.”

By Dave Berger

September 01, 2021 at 1:00 PM

It’s not uncommon for immature children to get frustrated and act out in an unhealthy physical manner. They might start hitting someone because they are denied candy, for example. It is at this point that a parent or guardian might say, “Use your words,” to get the child to calm down and communicate feelings.

Such a deliberate use of words can diffuse a tense situation and lead to more self-awareness, understanding, and positive change.

Unfortunately, as we mature and understand words better, the use of words can lead to more conflict if the words themselves are transformed into weapons. How many times have you heard someone say that “it is not what you said but how you said it?” The delivery and interpretation of words can change their meanings dramatically.

Words matter, but the meanings of those words matter even more.

Mastering the many meanings of words is critical to understanding others, especially in the world of politics. It is within political discourse where we find the most significant use of wordsmithing. Here is where people are constantly jockeying for ideological position in their attempts to find a clear path to victory.

In the generation before this one, the phrase “political correctness” was originally meant to signify that someone was sensitive to language and actions that were racist, sexist, or homophobic. If you were being politically correct, you were trying to use labels that made people feel better about themselves, reduce discrimination, and promote equity. The change from firemen, policemen, and mailmen to firefighters, police officers, and mail carriers, for example, was considered a politically correct adaptation to the fact that many more personnel in fire, police, and postal departments were women.

While seemingly harmless and even positive, the meaning of the phrase “political correctness” was soon changed to a pejorative term by people who opposed this process of sensitivity. They relabeled the concept as “PC.” This new meaning claimed that a “PC person” was someone who wasted their time trying not to offend anyone by watching every word they said. It is claimed that “PC people” are part of the “cancel culture” because they want to change the longstanding behavior of others through the excessive, constant, and annoying manipulation of our language.

This partisan evolution of the phrase “political correctness” demonstrates how the meaning of words can be changed to, in effect, weaponize them as tools against those who originated them.

Today, this same weaponization process has been applied to the concept of “woke.”

Originally, “woke” was a concept that came out of African American communities in the United States during the 1930s. It was a term used to help people become more aware of racial prejudice and discrimination that affected African Americans. Folks were encouraged to “stay woke,” or aware, of such disparities and to fight to change them.

In the last few years, though, “woke” has been used by many political groups fighting for equality. This broadening of the term has been quite expansive. Calls to “stay woke” can now be found at protests involving LGBTQ+ issues, women’s rights, immigrant rights, environmental protection, economic inequality, funding for the arts, and many other social-justice issues.

The basic meaning of “woke” has become more of a general awareness of all forms of prejudice and discrimination and the need to defeat them.

The opponents of “woke” took this expanded meaning and twisted it to apply to anyone who they feel hates America and has declared war on our culture. They claim that “woke activists” push their identity politics so forcefully that they are destroying the unity of our nation. They demonize well-intending “woke” by saying they have no respect for tradition and that they wish to wipe out our collective history.

As adults, we have learned to use our words. Unfortunately, we have also learned to misuse other people’s words. When we weaponize words that were intended to do good, we undermine the goodness of those respective movements.

It is time to grow up as a society. We need to stop attacking those promoting social justice because we have become frustrated and fearful of change. We need to diffuse the current tense situation in our society by taking our clever word-power abilities and using them to promote more self-awareness, understanding, and positive change.

Dave Berger of Plymouth, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor who taught for nearly three decades at Inver Hills Community College. He also is a regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Trump no Kris Kringle — beyond their fraud accusations

From the column: “Trump attacks the entire justice system and all government. He would rather destroy our system of justice and overthrow our entire government than face accountability.”

Opinion by Dave Berger

November 19, 2023 at 11:02 AM

Early on a crisp sunny morning on Thursday, Nov. 27, 1924, in New York City, the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade wound its way from West 145th Street in Harlem (near the intersection with St. Nicholas Avenue) to Herald Square in Manhattan, about six miles. While it took nearly three hours to cover the route, the parade floats, costumed marchers, zoo animals, and bands only spanned two city blocks. Macy’s created this first parade to mark the large expansion of its 1902 flagship store at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue in Herald Square to over 1 million square feet.

The last float of the parade featured Santa Claus, complete with his sleigh and reindeer. When he arrived at Herald Square, Father Christmas ascended a ladder to a balcony at Macy’s and was declared “King of the Kiddies” in front of the large crowd that had gathered.

The parade was a resounding success, and it became an annual event.

The 1947 Christmas film classic, “Miracle on 34th Street,” starring Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn immortalized the Macy’s parade by featuring it in an early memorable scene. O’Hara plays Doris Walker, an executive at Macy’s who oversees the parade. Gwenn plays Kris Kringle, a passerby who discovers that the Macy’s Santa is intoxicated. With a little cajoling from Doris, Kris decides to take the place of the spurious Santa.

The day is saved as Santa Claus rides his float and arrives safely at Herald Square to announce to all, “And you will find toys of all kinds at Macy’s!”

Another memorable moment from “Miracle on 34th Street” is the civil commitment trial of Kris Kringle. The state of New York tries to have him committed because he believes himself to be Santa Claus. While neither the prosecutor nor the judge really wants to lock up Santa, the judicial mechanisms push hard to take away his freedom.

As with the Macy’s parade, Kris Kringle’s trial was also filmed in New York City. It was filmed at the New York County Courthouse, now called the New York County Supreme Court, at 60 Centre St. on Foley Square. I noticed during media coverage of former President Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial that it was being held in room 300 of the very same building.

The New York County Supreme Court building is quite impressive with its granite face and massive Roman columns. It looks like a courthouse. At the top of the façade of this iconic courthouse is the statement (all in capital letters): “The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.”

Trump stands against this entire statement. He claims holding him accountable for fraud is not justice. He says the entire government is bad and biased against him.

Instead of attacking the facts of the case, which clearly show he is guilty of fraud, Trump attacks the entire justice system and all government. He would rather destroy our system of justice and overthrow our entire government than face accountability. His actions and words suggest he hates America and would see it burned to the ground to save himself from the legal reckoning that seems well overdue in his four indictments, 91 criminal charges, and multiple civil liability cases.

Kris Kringle was considered a fraud by many people, as just a kindly old gentleman out to do good deeds. Donald Trump is considered by many people as a fraud, as a mean old man out to undermine American democracy with his hate and anger and lies. In many ways, Trump is the anti-Claus.

As we all know, Kris Kringle was not committed to an insane asylum but declared, with a little help from the U.S. Postal Service, to be the one and only Santa Claus. Justice was served.

If all goes well, shortly after Thanksgiving this year, Judge Arthur F. Engoron of the Supreme Court 1st Judicial District in New York will declare Trump and his sons the greatest fraudsters in the history of our country. Then, the rule of law will rightfully prevail.

Dave Berger of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor, freelance writer, author, and regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Minnesota, seize chance to rethink police in schools

From the column: “We have an opportunity to begin to move away from the focus on arresting students for drug-related crimes and instead focus on protecting all of our students equally.”

Opinion by Dave Berger

October 27, 2023 at 2:51 PM

When I was in elementary school during the late 1960s and early 1970s, the main role police played in our schools was protecting students. Officer Art Sivanich of the Minneapolis Police Department would visit us with his talking station wagon, “Oscar.” He was a kindly older gentleman who gave us safety lectures on how to be careful around traffic.

I remember in kindergarten and first grade he warned us not to be mountain goats on large snowbanks since we could easily fall off into traffic. When I was in sixth grade, Officer Sivanich trained me and many of my friends to become members of the school safety patrol. We had sashes with badge insignias and would lower our bright orange flags to help younger children cross the streets safely.

When officer Sivanich began his career in the 1950s, the school safety patrol had already been around for more than 30 years. From the 1920s to the 1940s, children and adults in school safety patrol were referred to as “school police.” Of course, they were not police but more deputized traffic monitors. In fact, during that period, there were no full-time licensed police officers in American schools.

It was not until the 1950s that the first school resource officer (SRO) program was started in Flint, Michigan. By the late 1960s, there were dozens of SRO programs in many schools across America. At first, the new school resource officers held the title of school police liaisons. The goal was to improve relationships with youth and the police. Many of these officers also served as teachers and counselors.

As a form of community policing, early SROs seemed to focus on protecting the safety of students and the security of school property. However, by the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a shift of priorities from protecting children to fighting the war on drugs. During this time the mission of SROs refocused and normalized the searching and arresting of students for drug-related crimes.

Unfortunately, this new emphasis on drug-related crimefighting within schools affected communities of color disproportionately. The National Center for Education Statistics stated that , in 2018, 51% of schools with Brown or Black enrollments of greater than 75% have SROs, compared to only 34% at predominantly white schools.

Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights , in 2015, while Black children made up 15% of school enrollment, they accounted for 31% of all school-related arrests. Comparatively, while white children made up 49% of school enrollment, they only accounted for 36% of school-related arrests. Some people believe this was a racist pattern of oppression representing a school-to-prison pipeline.

Due to institutional racism and the fallout from the murder of George Floyd by police, school districts in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Hopkins removed SROs from their schools in 2020.

More recently, a new state law in Minnesota prevents SROs from placing students in a prone or face-down restraint. The law also states that while an officer can “restrain a student to prevent imminent bodily harm or death to the student or another,” the officer “shall not inflict any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a pupil’s ability to breathe.” While this seems like a reasonable law, many local Minnesota police departments and sheriff’s offices suspended their SRO programs, stating that the law was unclear and could open up officers to criminal charges or lawsuits if they find it necessary to restrain a student.

The people of Minnesota should take this pause in SRO programs to re-evaluate the role of police in our schools. There needs to be a statewide discussion before these programs are restarted. We have an opportunity to begin to move away from the focus on arresting students for drug-related crimes and instead focus on protecting all of our students equally, no matter their race or ethnic makeup.

Dave Berger of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor, a freelance writer and author, and a regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Corporate wolf clothed in ‘community’ lurks in Minnesota

From the column: “When you consider the Itasca Project is run at least in part by corporate CEOs, you wonder about its true motives.”

Opinion by Dave Berger

July 08, 2023 at 9:36 AM

Recently, I came across a February study commissioned by the Itasca Project, titled, “Housing Innovation Report: Recommended strategies to increase production and lower housing costs in Minnesota.” While the study itself was interesting, I was even more intrigued by its sponsoring organization.

The Itasca Project sounds like a water-conservation endeavor in the Northland or possibly a search for the exact source of the Mississippi River. Most Minnesotans would not have a clue what it is or why it exists. The name does, however, elicit a positive feeling indicative of an organization that has a concrete function.

Recently, I came across a February study commissioned by the Itasca Project, titled, “Housing Innovation Report: Recommended strategies to increase production and lower housing costs in Minnesota.” While the study itself was interesting, I was even more intrigued by its sponsoring organization.

The Itasca Project sounds like a water-conservation endeavor in the Northland or possibly a search for the exact source of the Mississippi River. Most Minnesotans would not have a clue what it is or why it exists. The name does, however, elicit a positive feeling indicative of an organization that has a concrete function.

It is not a coincidence that executives from some of the largest development and construction companies in Minnesota participated in the creation of the report, including MA Mortenson Company, Ryan Companies, Andersen Corporation, and Dominium. It would make sense that they want to obtain free or inexpensive land and reduce government oversight of projects, thereby increasing profits.

Too many local newspapers and media outlets quote Itasca Project studies as if they are neutral research documents. It is unreasonable that the motives of such a powerful agent of public discourse are not more closely explored or discussed.

In my view, the Itasca Project is a corporate wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Dave Berger of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor, freelance writer, author, and regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

What’s in a name? From George Washington to Maya Angelou

Many of those that oppose the renaming of George Washington High School are alumni that argue that such an action is part of a cancel culture that wants to erase our history and the important role the father of our country had in the founding of our great nation.

By Dave Berger, Plymouth, Minnesota Duluth News Tribune

October 12, 2021 at 9:00 AM

George Washington (1732-1799) has been called the father of our country due to the historical roles he played in the American Revolution, creation of the US Constitution, and as the first president of the United States of America.

General Washington became a hero of the revolution with such feats as crossing of the Delaware River and the resulting victory at the Battle of Trenton. As president of the constitutional convention, Washington kept order during the arduous four-month process and became the first to sign one of the most influential documents in world history. President Washington is the only US president to ever win election with a unanimous vote in the electoral college. He actually did it twice.

George Washington’s central part in our nation’s history has not been forgotten. From Washington D.C. to the State of Washington, It would be difficult to live a day in our society without seeing or hearing a tribute to this man. There are 31 counties, 241 civil townships, 29 bridges, dozens of parks, squares, postage stamps, mountains, and over 5,000 streets named in honor of our first president. Washington’s likeness appears on Mount Rushmore, the flag of Washington State, over 500 million U.S. quarters, and nearly 12 Billion one dollar bills.

Memorials to George Washington are also quite numerous among educational institutions. Over two dozen colleges and universities are named for Washington, including the University of Washington and George Washington University. There are 322 primary and secondary schools named after George Washington in the United States. Among former U.S. presidents, only Abraham Lincoln (607) and Thomas Jefferson (350) have more schools named for them. 

George Washington owned fellow human beings. He greatly benefited financially from the institution of slavery with over 50,000 acres of land in his portfolio and was the second richest president in US history. Documents show that he supported the beating and mistreatment of those that he owned and enforced all laws against runaway slaves.

George Washington owned 123 slaves on his plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Another 153 slaves also lived there but they were dower slaves from the Custis estate. In his will, Washington arranged for his slaves to be freed after his death, once his wife Martha had died. One year after George’s death, Martha decided to free the 123 slaves but they, for the most part, continued to live nearby and/or became wage earners at Mount Vernon so they could be close to their friends and relatives that were among the 153 other slaves that were not freed.

In January of this year, the San Francisco School Board voted to change 44 school names, about a third of their schools, including George Washington High School. By April, however, they decided to table this action due to massive public criticism that the criteria and research they used to select schools for renaming was fundamentally flawed. The committee on renaming schools came up with the following guidelines…that schools cannot be named after anyone who has: 

“engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of human beings; or who oppressed women, inhibiting societal progress; or whose actions led to genocide; or who otherwise significantly diminished the opportunities of those amongst us to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

George Washington did engage in the subjugation and enslavement of human beings. That being said, he also significantly increased the opportunities many have to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He was pivotal in the world-wide transition from monarchy to democracy. From these guidelines, Washington is both villain and hero.

Currently, on the website change.org , there is a petition that has been signed by 24,984 asking for George Washington High School to be renamed Maya Angelou High School. The petition reads… 

Maya Angelou went to George Washington High School in San Francisco. But she was kicked out because she became pregnant, an experience she writes about in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The high school should be renamed after her.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) wrote beloved and insightful award winning poetry and memoirs. She was an influential civil rights activist who was friends with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. She also wrote a number of plays, movies, and television programs spanning over 50 years. She currently has 10 schools named after her. She is undeniably the most distinguished alumna of George Washington High School.

Many who want to change the name of George Washington High School to Maya Angelou High School argue that it is to honor her and empower the students. They note that about 90 percent of the people who currently attend the school are people of color. It then follows, they argue, that renaming the school after a very talented person of color who attended the school will encourage students to excel through the use of a role model that they can relate to.

Many of those that oppose the renaming of George Washington High School are alumni that argue that such an action is part of a cancel culture that wants to erase our history and the important role the father of our country had in the founding of our great nation. They also believe that judging historical figures that have been dead hundreds of years by today’s norms is illogical and irrational since they lived in different times with different normative standards.

The students and sports teams at George Washington High School are known as the Eagles. Their school colors are scarlet and gray. On their website they proudly display the saying “Once an Eagle always an Eagle.”

If the school’s name is changed will they still keep the Eagle nickname?

School pride motivates both school name changers and school name retainers. Many of the current students find it difficult to be proud of their school if they are forced to glorify a slave owner and racist on a daily basis. Conversely, many of the alumni want to cherish their memories of school pride by keeping the name and remaining Eagles. Both groups have heartfelt and meaningful reasons for their passionate positions.

Moving forward we need to ask a series of important questions to set up a logical framework to handle future name changes in schools and many other institutions. Which groups should control or have a vote in future name changes? What role should students, faculty, alumni, community members, school boards, historians, foundations, booster clubs, local governments, businesses, and committees play in this process? 

How should we evaluate the lives of significant people? Who is worthy of having an institution named for them and who is not? Do we apply a modern day value litmus test to their biographies or do we look more holistically at their over-all impact on the world? 

Dave Berger of Plymouth, Minnesota, is a retired sociology professor who taught for nearly three decades at Inver Hills Community College. He also is a regular contributor to the News Tribune Opinion page.

Mr. President, you should resign in November

by Dave Berger01/19/2022. MinnPost

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. has had a long and storied career as a public servant and leader among the people of the United States. In 1970, when he was but 27 years old, Biden was elected to the New Castle County Council in Delaware. During his two years on the council, Biden supported public housing and opposed oil corporation proposals to build their refineries on environmentally sensitive coastal land.

In 1972, Biden became one of the youngest U.S. senators in American history at age 29. He served as senator from Delaware for 36 years. During his time in the senate he was a longtime member and chair of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While he sponsored many bills, he has stated that his most significant piece of legislation was The Violence Against Women Act of 1994.

Under President Barack Obama, Biden served as 47th vice president of the United States for eight years. During this time he oversaw spending on infrastructure under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, helped prevent a government shutdown with the passing of the Budget Control Act of 2011, and led the Cancer Moonshot efforts to help defeat cancer.

On Jan. 12, 2017, because of his lifetime of public service, Biden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction.

In November 2020 Biden was elected 46th president of the United States and was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2021. While Biden is the oldest man to serve as president at 79 years of age, former President Donald Trump is the second oldest president at 74 years of age when he left office.  

Our nation owes a great deal of gratitude to President Biden for his consistent and important service to all of us.  

On Nov. 20 of this year, Biden will turn 80 years old. At that point he will have served nearly 50 years in public office. On his birthday, he should give our great nation a most wonderful gift. He should resign the presidency.

With a simple signature from a White House pen, Biden can hand off the baton of political leadership with dignity and pride to the next generation. He can single-handedly help the first woman and second person of color to become president of the United States. This would be a most glorious exit from the political stage and ensure his place in history.

By resigning on his birthday this year, Biden will give Vice President Kamala Harris the time she needs to prove herself before the 2024 election. This way, she will have a much better chance to be competitive and possibly defeat former president Trump.

Trump, like Biden, is late in his eighth decade of life. Born on June 14, 1946, he will be 76 years old this year. If reelected he would be 78 years old on Inauguration Day, the same age President Biden was when he assumed office. 

Between now and Nov. 20 of this year, President Biden should try to accomplish as many goals as he can to round out his illustrious career. He should also start allowing Harris to become more involved in the day-to-day operation of the Oval Office. She should shadow and learn from the president to prepare for her taking over the highest position in the land.

An orderly transition will make future president Harris a much better leader.

If she succeeds, we all succeed. If she fails to be a good leader, then the Democrats should replace her for the 2024 election campaign.

It’s time for historic change.

Dave Berger of Maple Grove, is a retired sociology professor who taught for nearly 37 years.  He is now a freelance writer and author.