So the Obama administration has a politically correct scheme to diminish Alexander Hamilton’s long-standing and rightful presence on the $10 bill with the addition of a more prominent portrait of a yet-to-be-named woman. Never mind that not even the most accomplished woman in American history can begin to compare.
Off the top of my head, Alexander Hamilton overcame illegitimacy and poverty through great personal effort within the opportunity afforded by America. He was a trusted aide to Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signatory of the Constitution. He brilliantly advocated for ratification of the Constitution as the primary author of The Federalist Papers, with James Madison and John Jay, under the pen name Publius.
And as the first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton put the young Republic on a sound fiscal footing, established the U.S. dollar as a legitimate currency and laid the foundation for the economic powerhouse the United States was to become.
Political correctness is an exercise in irony perpetrated by people too humorless and too ignorant, and perhaps too stupid, to realize they're being ironic.
Original Letter to the Editor submitted 20 June 2015 to the News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
The folks at the News & Record made the following notable changes: (1) Substitution of an alternate title, which is always expected as I don't suffer their space limits, but in this case my title was the same length and would have fit just as well, and worse, wrongly implies I think the Hamilton portrait is to be removed entirely, though my text clearly articulates the actual proposal; (2) Removal of my reference to Orwell's 1984 meant to suggest a repressive government altering history to increase its power by miseducating the people and keeping them ignorant of their heritage; (3) Changing my capitalization, which conforms with an accepted exception, of the formal title "Secretary of the Treasury," perhaps following the AP Stylebook.
To the Editor:
Hamilton earned his place on our $10 bill
From the "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" file:
So the Obama administration has a politically correct scheme to diminish Alexander Hamilton’s long-standing and rightful presence on the $10 bill with the addition of a more prominent portrait of a yet-to-be-named woman. Never mind that not even the most accomplished woman in American history can begin to compare.
Off the top of my head, Alexander Hamilton overcame illegitimacy and poverty through great personal effort within the opportunity afforded by America. He was a trusted aide to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signatory of the Constitution. He brilliantly advocated for ratification of the Constitution as the primary author of The Federalist Papers, with James Madison and John Jay, under the pen name Publius.
And as the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton put the young Republic on a sound fiscal footing, established the U.S. dollar as a legitimate currency, and laid the foundation for the economic powerhouse the United States was to become.
Political correctness is an exercise in irony perpetrated by people too humorless and too ignorant, and perhaps too stupid, to realize they're being ironic.
Matt Wallace
Greensboro, NC
