Dear President Nichol:
Respectfully, Sir, your explanation for the removal of the cross from the Wren Chapel is the most insidious form of post-modern rhetoric. For more than three centuries, the College has stood against the tides of fancy by keeping to the highest traditions of its founding and by resisting the intellectual equivalent of the flavor of the month. Those of us who made the coveted walk past the Sunken Garden on our way to commencement have always taken a special pride in knowing that our revered institution has resisted the temptation of the politically correct multi-cultural gibberish that has so invaded the policies of other, formerly prestigious institutions.
You couch your argument in gentle, inclusive language, but your vision is clear - this is a perilous first step onto a path that will ultimately eradicate any vestige of tradition and value in our community. We are not excluding those of other religious faiths when we celebrate an historical artifact. Would you repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Would you advocate the destruction of Europe's greatest examples of architecture simply because the cathedrals are laid in the form of a crucifix? At what point, Mr. President, does history gain a rightful place in your Utopia? Are not the products of Christian heritage worthy and deserving of your protection as well? Where does it end?
I know that my opinion is representative of the vast majority of alumni, and if you believe our collective opinion is of some value, then I would urge you to have the moral courage to admit a mistake and put the history back where it belongs. Committees and panels are the machinations of bureaucrats and politicians, people who seek to obfuscate a simple decision by drawing the discussion into the realm of the abstract.
The amount of time this unfortunate incident consumes could be deadly to the College’s reputation in the coming years. Only you have the power to end it quickly, and history will record this moment as the turning point when the nation’s alma mater either reaffirmed its standing and character or surrendered to the pseudo-intellectual group hug of post-modern mediocrity.
Steve Cheng
Class of 1991
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Insidious Post-Modern Rhetoric
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6 comments:
What an excellent letter. Mr. Cheng, you have indeed written for all of us. Thank you.
Mr. Cheng, your opinion is succinctly eloquent. Unfortunately we are in a modern day version of the fairy tale of "The Emperor’s New Clothes" where sound simple truth and logic are ignored for insidious tyrannical manipulation. Tolerance and free speech are not achieved through the marginalizing or silencing of another voice. We are in dark times created solely by our "leader" (misnomer). No one has the guts to stop this digression into madness.
To wit I add NOT ONE NICKEL UNTIL NO MORE NICHOL.
Your big words almost shroud your obtuseness, but not quite. Go join your brothers-in-arms at the American Enterprise Institute (or other similar organization) and think yourselves into nothingness. Obviously, this "madness" is causing many of you to blow a gasket. Ask yourselves, is this type of anger worth it... I think not. Go home and find a truly important issue in the news to focus this much energy on. Your world is not crashing down around you and William and Mary will grow and prosper for another 400 years.
Dear Anonymous,
Why the need to box the commentators into boxes? Are you afraid to read other well voiced opinions, thus the attempt to diminish their value?
William and Mary is at the risk of being mediocre and free speech is being limited by Nichol.
Post-modern is precisely the term, how do you make someone with this worldview President of W&M? If you are going to discard history at the drop of a hat, W&M should be the last place for him. Wish i had written this letter.
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