AS I SEE IT
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
The Woke Movement, little by little, is rewriting America’s history. We are changing the names of landmarks because they are perceived as being derogatory to a group of people and we are tearing down monuments because they may have owned slaves or were honored during the Civil War.
So just what is it to be woke?
In prior years, being woke was just the opposite of being asleep.
But today, the meaning of the word has changed a lot with the new meaning of woke officially being added to the dictionary in 2017. According to Merriam-Webster, woke is now defined as being “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues, especially as it relates to racial and social justice issues especially regarding issues surrounding marginalized communities be they black, Native American, Latino, Chinese, those who associate themselves as being gay, lesbian or transgender, or virtually another group.
Personally, I’m confused about some of the things that have been removed because they are considered insensitive to others as part of the woke movement. One is the statue of Theodore Roosevelt in New York because it depicted Roosevelt on horseback with a black person and an Native American behind him. Fortunately the statue is finding a new home in Medora as part of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. I’m also confused why some of America’s founders are on the apparent hit list of the woke movement. While some of them were slave owners, which was common in this country’s formative years, they were also the men who helped fight for America’s independence and created this country’s Constitution.