History as ‘More or Less Gray’

Anent the ever-contentious Woodrow Wilson issue, one is reminded of the observation spoken by Marc Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.”

The reverse of this dichotomy obtained until the recent reevaluation and determination. We should no more bury Wilson’s positive achievements than we should forgive and forget his reprehensible actions. (In fact, doesn’t that hold true for all of us?) 

The problem with cancel culture lies in the meaning one gives to “cancel.” Eliminate altogether? Or start afresh and reassess with maximum fairness and objectivity? As French historian André Kaspi wrote: “History is never all black or all white. It is always more or less gray.”