Regarding the Committee on Naming in general, and the controversy over John Witherspoon in particular, I would like to suggest that before sitting in judgment on our ancestors we should allow them to sit in judgment on us. Fair is fair, after all, and barring serious moral consideration it is only an historical conceit that would lead us to believe that our views are any more valid than theirs.
With this in mind, how would John Witherspoon and his cohort regard our present society? We have demonstrated our inability to build successful marriages; we have aborted a quarter of our rising generation; and now we are showing ourselves unable to define exactly what it is that makes a person male or female. I have a fair idea that his judgment of us would be quite harsh; speaking objectively, I doubt that we have the moral standing to pass judgment on Witherspoon and his times. We should leave that for a more capable generation.