This is not a liberal/conservative fight, the battle is between bias and objectivity. While fools may rail against dead white men, or argue the superiority of some oppressed group, we can never get to the 'truth' of history, we can only strive to recognize our own biases, and help other to see theirs. Yes DWM's are only part of the story, and 25 years on they still remain the skeleton around which any tale of humanity's 'progress' must be assembled, but without other perspectives, the heart, flesh, sinews, and blood of the tale, it can never again live and breathe in the mind.

This writer for "Reason Magazine" is a bit off in her historical perspective.  The progressive changes that occurred in Western societies had their origins from those who were oppressed.  The inclusion of formerly ostracized citizens took mega effort from women, blacks, Native Americans and others to painfully demonstrate that the attitudes of the majority race were a blight on the nation.  Yes, certainly there were those who pitched in to promote a just cause, sometimes with their lives, but that pales in its impact to the social movements growing out of protest against years of being unfairly or horribly treated.  The caucasian population does not need faint praise, but rather demanding form them that they are taking too long to do what is right. It should be added that too many still resist opening up the society with little rationale other than beliefs long ago disproven.   

Many of us who are critical of western culture fail to train our sights on the specific flaws or deforamtions within the culture. One doesn't see volumes of criticism leveled against the Greek thinkers or even the great Roman thinkers.  Most turn their eyes towards the stratification and the patriachel and anti-scientific attitudes that flourished under the Christian domination of the West.  While some see it only subtely the criticism is distinctly and rightly anti-institutionalized religion. It is within the religious sphere that the movement towards human freedom and human dignity is most often opposed and leads to a belief that it is culturally founded.  Certainly religion is a part of culture but it is merely a part.  However, in the past it has so dominated western culture that it has to a great extent deformed and prevented forward movement.

This is not to say this has anything to do with god per se but institutionalized religion. In fact many a person of faith has led the movement towards freedom and dignity.  There is much to admire in the West and much to hold in disdain, but that is true as well of the East.  I find it kind of amusing that Jesse would protest "western culture" given that his morality is so entertwined with western culture.  It is in fact who he is at his very core. 

After 2 decades of being set aside for Affirmative Action, Female promotions, the WHITE MALE cowardly decided to roll with the punches. The Liberal old White Boys in DC, figured giving in to all spending requests would keep them in office, and it has worked.till now. No complaing when unqualified minorities are slid into  high positions . The fear os being labelled a RACIST runs rampid. To me, that charge only means the accuser has NO defense. For example, since 1970 thetaxpayer has bent over backwards to "Minoritize" the Boston Public School system. $80 million a year for busing, no discipline, NON-English classes as produced Lazy DUMMIES. Minority Superintendents have all failed. The WHITE man is DEAD.......THere I said it

As a former veteran of thirty-five years in Walpole classrooms, I support multi-cultural education which promotes the positives in all cultures. Your article proposing that white male culture should not be marginalized is well researched. Curriculum coordinators, and Social Studies classroom teachers can and must make room for the entire crayon box of delightful hues- black, white, and everything between.

Critics of any civilization tend to focus on differences rather than the more numerous similariries shared by them. Human nature is pretty much uniform throughout humanity. Power corrupts in all civilizations and the best of intentions become distorted. Thus the powers of Parliamentary England led to the British Empire. Ghengis Khan went on that famous rampage. Alexander the Great. The French Revolution traded its ideals, whatever that may have been, in for an Emperor. 20th Century Europe, U.S. "gunboat diplomacy", Phillip II of Spain, Mehmet the Conqueror, the Pope and the Crusades, countless Eastern and South Asian dynasties, African kingdoms large and small; you get the picture. The critics need to broaden their scope and re-submit their critiqe. Good article.

Plato, Socrates, Moses, Jesus, Shakespeare, Goethe, Milton, Dante, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Copernicus, Edison, Einstein, Fleming, Newton, Darwin, O'Neill, Guthrie, Lincoln, Jefferson, and hundreds more. 

On the other hand, The Caesars, the Popes, Columbus, the Vikings, the KKK, Hitler, Leopold of Belgium, The British Empire, Mussolini, etc etc.

Ms. Young's concerns would be valid if "Male and Pail" cannon were ignored the way all other thought was ignored historically, but the supremacy of dead white guys is not really underthreat anymore than the supremacy of old white guys is. A conservative has been described as someone standing across the path of history and yelling "Stop!", and Ms. Young appears to fit that description as well.

Interesting and provocative. It makes me ask the question: What is "the West?" Does our very definition of it reflect something important about how we see ourselves, and human progress?

It's starting folks. The Globe is becoming the Herald. People should be aware that this article comes from a writer who works for a publication (Newsday) owned by Philip Anshutz. Anshutz is a billionaire oilman, evangelical-fruitcake-crazy-person who wants to stifle free expression and free speech by telling you and I what we can do, what we can watch, what we can say and who we can love. Ever heard of the Foundation for a Better Life, the Institute for American values? Anti-gay.. for sure. The Globe should be ashamed. Why promote hated and bigotry through "correct thinking"?

As far as which "culture" is of more value, when you're thirsty in the desert, you don't care whose well you're drinking from.

Jesse Jackson's contemptible chant makes me wonder why he still lives in a democracy, speaks English and sends a scapegrace son to Congress.

First of all, the White Male is still ascendent - to say otherwise is pure, whining folly.  The true argument has to do with Western values - which are indeed superior to those of many parts of the world.  The key is balance, but the White Males want it all and the Minorities want it all so we argue instead of finding a realistic balance.  My greater fear is that students are too busy entertaining themselves with electronics to truly take the time to read and understand either side of the argument.  They do not care and simply want to be rich, a celebrity, or both!  We have become a very superficial society.  Pardon the typos but my typing stinks!  Cheers!

Cathy, calling the rights won for women, gays and lesbians and more as "unprecedented" is a false perspective.  In fact, mysoginistic, homo- and trans- phobic western culture disrupted (exterminated) existing societies that honored women and people of sexual and other difference.  Such rights are unprecedented only WITHIN western "civilization".  For which we deserve some credit for our efforts, but let's not go overboard congratulating ourselves for correcting a wrong that countless other cultures before us never made in the first place.  Sadly, our ancesters set us on a course of developing technologies that could be used to facilitate intense concentrations of power and wealth, and it was inevitable that corruption captured our culture.  Whether we can tame that beast before we self-destruct remains to be seen.        

Holy Cow! A voice of reason?

Thank you Cathy.

It is truly VERY sad to hear Americans on the left spouting the anti-West talking points (usually confined to anti-American). It's such a 'blinders on' menatility. Especially nowadays where we hear almost daily about the way women are treated in Islamic countries. Don't we as a country deserve any credit for how far women have come? For defeating Facism? For abolishing slavery?

 It really is self-loathing and it's as embarrasing to us as a society as the anti-intellectual, bible-thumping BS being spewed by so many on the right these days. 

It is essential that we constantly question who we are and whether we're 'right' in how we conduct our lives and treat our allies & enemies. Part of that is unashamed praise of what we've done right in the past and how we're living now.

Tune out the crazies on both sides while recognizing their right to regurgitate. It's what makes us a good country and what will ensure we keep correcting future mistakes.

Western Culture and other culture is not an either/or proposition.

I always wondered what GOP stood for.  Now I know: Grumpy Old (I'll be nice) People!

By the way, feminism is not exclusively Euro-western.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her fellow early feminists were heavily influenced by the greater cultural power and freedom experienced by the Iriquois women living in the same area.  http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/July98/iroquois.exhibit.ssl.html   And there are other non-western cultures which have traditionally given more power and influence to women than have our founding fathers. 
That said, I wanted to thank Cathy Young for her ever thoughtful writing.  I personally do not see the studying of the 'great white men' and the studying of other important historical and influential writers and thinkers as an either/or.  I find that to be a false dichotomy.  If you want to truly teach history, or western thought, you do need to include more than one flavor of voice.  Even the Monticello museum has realized that you can't leave out the experiences of the slaves.

Sorry, being 3/4s BLIND doesnt help with typing...............To all of the naysayers...........The TRUTH does not always come with a Happy Face. To the spelling complainers, get a life...........You should hear me on TERM LIMITS

The great Allan Bloom, responding to the loony multi-culties who accused him of a pro-Western bias and an unwillingness to be open to non-Western writers, put it best.  He wanted to know of another culture that produced a writer the equal of Shakespeare, because he wanted to read the best of literature, whereever it came from.  Why would people insultingly assume that his great mind would not want to engage beautiful writing because it wasn't Western.  And by the way, the fact of the matter is that while cultures like the Greeks and Romans were spending their time with philosophy, medicine and histoiry, other cultures were sticking things through their noses.

Nice piece, Ms. Young.  You happen to hae hit on one of the major concepts I wonder about these day.  As you put it, "college courses on Western culture are “in precipitous decline.” This is partly due to the notion of a global world, even though this global world is largely based on Western influence."    I am sort of surprised that the Boston Glob editorial bum weezers didn't run a counterpsychic opinion to show how smart they are.

"History"  To criticize western culture is not to hate it.  To glorify western culture is to not understand it.  It has much that I like and much that I dislike.  However, Islamic culture has things that I like and things that I despise.  Eastern culture has things that I like and things that I dislike.  To understand, to approve and to think aspects of another culture is not to hate your own, it is merely to see the value in other cultures. 

Let all of those that criticize Western Culture live in China, Cuba, or the Middle East Arab nations. That is why people come here to live as best as they can. It is true lefties never judge slavery in other nations, just as socialists never judge Lenin or Marx. They can't handle the truth.