Bret Stephens argues that the 1619 Project lacks the proper nuances and context in today’s NYT. As you can imagine, I agree completely, and only wish that he had mentioned the number of Union casualties in the Civil War to amplify his point.
The tragedy is that the 1619 Project has simply opened up a new front in the culture war, with Trump supporters arguing that slavery and racism are just an unfortunate blip in our history with little contemporary relevance, and 1619 people saying that they are an overriding theme that dwarfs everything else, even today. The truth is in the middle. As I’ve said before, and I can’t improve on it, racism shaped our country, but does not define it.