“Woke” American professors are eager to declare the classics “racist” and dump them in favor of other books that aren’t “white.” That’s sure to make the country a better place!
Oddly enough, western classics are becoming more and more popular in China. So writes John Mac Ghlionn in today’s Martin Center article.
Students in China are as apt to be reciting Cicero as they are Marx. Who’d have thought it?
Ghlionn writes, “the Chinese are turning to the Classics to gain some historical perspective. To understand others, we must walk in their shoes, or at least attempt to. The Chinese seem to understand that.” The Chinese want to study the ancient Greeks, for example, rather than dismissing their writings in a silly attempt at creating “equity.”
Does this matter? Ghlionn thinks so: “In the US, sadly, the Classics empire is in decline. Fewer students are enrolling, and because of this classics departments are closing their doors. What do we lose when we lose the Classics? Perspective. More specifically, historical perspective. Right now, that’s the last thing American students need to be losing.”