Reasonable Voices
If you’ve ever attended a diversity and inclusion seminar, you know it’s perilous to raise the issue of cultural causes when discussing factors that might help explain group differences. David Bernstein does a great job of presenting the case for welcoming the topic of culture back into our discussions but doing so in a way that avoids negative stereotypes.
“Bad history yields bad politics”—that’s the conclusion of James H. Sweet, president of the American Historical Association, who meant it as a bipartisan caution against “presentism,” the introduction of current attitudes, ideas, and perspectives into the way we depict the past. An “outrage volcano” erupted when he used the example of how the film “The Woman King,” sugarcoats the African kingdom of Dahomey’s role in the slave trade. No matter that he is an Africa expert, specializing in the history of the slave trade.
The New History Wars - The Atlantic
Read these two articles from the New York Times in tandem if you can. The second is by a climate change skeptic who’s changing his tune while still holding on to some skepticism regarding the best ways to respond. Is he still too skeptical?
The New World: Envisioning Life After Climate Change - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The gender dogma machine in the U.S. is ignoring mounting evidence of harm regarding standards of care for gender dysphoric youth. This study in the U.K. is echoed by findings in countries like Finland, France and Sweden, and also the state of Florida.