UnHomaginized

Facebook friends weigh in on the controversy over Mao Zeodong's statue in the museum of the Nixon Library:

The Rev. Karen Ann Wojahn. I'm puzzled. Why does recognizing an individual's impact (for good or for evil) on the world -- especially an individual as powerful as Mao -- make him or her the the moral equivalent of similarly powerful people? I've marveled at that lovely exhibit many times, and never saw it as an homage to any of the figures. Instead, I saw it as a way to "see" in one place a sample of flawed (some more than others) but powerful figures whose lives impacted every living person in one way or another during the twentieth century.

Ed Cimler: I agree, Karen. A museum is not only a repository of stuff. It also serves to remind and educate us. It may be somewhat unfortunate that the bad guys seem, at times, to get more press than the good guys. If asked to name a bad emperor of the Roman empire, many would come to mind, but I would have to think hard to come up with a good one.

Stephen Bruce: It's like saying (forgive the analogy) that watching "Birth of a Nation" makes me a racist.