I agree that Lincoln should be on a pedestal to protect him from being debased by people who might not like him and might damage him. Lincoln was quite comfortable telling's stories, and was very much a man of the people, who came out of the soil of Kentucky and Illinois, and earned his reputation as a lawyer as a young man when he negotiated in his defense after getting into some legal trouble transporting people for a fee across the Ohio River. People were repelled by his appearance, but after they heard him speak for a few minutes, they realized he was a man for the ages, whose mark upon the world internationally is still felt far and wide. As flawed as he was, being on a pedestal admired and revered, should be a top priority for the city, to remind us of the burden carried by many in the past to make our country a more perfect Union. If you don't love Lincoln, I don't imagine you can love America. Thanks for the post.
People need to be judged by the culture at the moment in time when they lived and their courage and commitment to addressing the most controversial issues at that time. They may have many glaring flaws as judged by today’s standards. But we would not be having the cultural debates today among our voting citizens were it not for Abe. And Antifa would not have existed as it did.
It seems pretty arrogant to tear down heros of our past because they don't meet the expectations of today's young people who just discovered "the truth". The "truth" is much more complicated. We need to learn it, but we don't need to desecrate noble actions of that moved us closer to the vision we hold today of "all men were created equal", articulated by a slave owner for other slave owners and land-owning men who wanted freedom from kings. We build a culture and redefine the vision on the backs of other people in the past that challenged hypocrisy. Thinking that they should have shared our more "perfect" ideals today is a bit silly. It's not how history works.
Putting him on the ground is worse than leaving him in storage. Not to mention that like most statues the artist designs them to be seen from a designated spot. Lincoln was designed to look down from a plinth. His gaze will be wonky from the ground. And no doubt other parts of the statue will be out of perspective. It’s the same reason Portlandia sits where she does. You can’t change their design to suit your mood.
I am not from Portland but love living here for its beauty, its laid back culture & many other reasons. However, I have lived in many many places in the US & overseas & I am repeatedly astounded by the way this city (managers? politicians?) spends its time on issues such as this. The symbolism of debasing the Lincoln statue by removing its plinth is beyond ridiculous. How much time has been spent in some kind of committee debating it? Worst of all, this is the city’s response to vandalism. Taking years to replace a public statue & then debasing it? So now Lincoln will have the same stature as the guy at the Washington Park rose garden?
This not supposed to be the way things are done. Lawlessness should not lead to concessions.
We have so many other issues that need attention in this city. Let’s not get distracted by this non-issue. Put the statue back up, as it was, & move on.
Aubrey uses typical progressive newspeak with giddy abandon: "...The city coordinated an inclusive and diverse set of perspectives in celebrating the return of the Thompson Elk Fountain..." I can guarantee that some "perspectives" were of no concern to the bureaucrats who kept the animal hidden in a warehouse for several years; the "perspective" that it was ruined by psychopathic vandals who were never stopped or prosecuted and who will use any excuse to go after it any damn time they please and will not be stopped again.
What the progressive apparatchiks are trying to figure out about Lincoln is signage that will waffle about the man's virtues using today's twisted sense of morality to bruise him a bit.
He'll be hidden until the next generation of know-it-all kiddies takes over what's left of the city and, as usual with next generations, repudiates everything their parents held dear.
Great follow up Aubrey on the city’s monuments revisionism and presentism approach to history. Just who in the city is making these choices? Hard to say as the Arts and Culture bureaucrats appear to have as much discretion as they want and when they want it. The city and its arts cabal, RACC, gave a very insightful exhibit by defacing Portland’s statues and monuments that were toppled. This aggression also included a detailed list of all Portland monuments that did not meet the litmus test of purity in todays enlightened local culture. This debasement is all very documented and available for those who want a clearer view of how we got here with the current proposal for Lincoln. If you think that what is happening to Lincoln is unacceptable, just wait for a year or two when Theodore Roosevelt makes his way back, if ever, same with George Washington.
In large part, the city’s actions are being driven, in large part, by a grant from the Mellon Foundation to create a “public engagement” process for the reinterpretation of our monuments to perform a more “contextualized” narrative. You recall Andrew Mellon, a prominent banker, industrialist, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932, faced criticism both during his tenure and in later historical assessments. The Atlantic, February 12, 2026 ran an excellent piece on the influence of the Mellon Foundation; The Multibillion-Dollar Foundation That Controls the Humanities Is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation the last best hope for American arts and letters—or is it killing them? If you’re going to contextualize Lincoln et al, why not Mellon? How about we start with an audit of the city arts and culture cabal and their grant from the Mellon Foundation to try and see who is really driving this historical revisionist agenda?
The headline captures one's attention. To be sure, it was eye catching but reading Aubrey's column was stunning. I was offended by the action to debase Abraham Lincoln. After reading the comments posted, I finally arrived at Henry Kunowski's post. He wrote with convincing factual evidence. IF he is accurate, we know who is responsible. We should appeal to The Oregonian to investigate and publish not only the terms of the Mellon Foundation grants but also all emails among the Art Council's members. Whomever is responsible for removing this icon, and any others, from their pedestals of honor should stand up to public scrutiny. We each have had enough of decisions being made in darkness by elitists. ENOUGH ALREADY
The City Council is set to increase it in a vote tomorrow, and it will have an inflation clause if I read the proposal correctly. Every citizen should be allowed to opt out of this horrendous "tax", or designate their portion of it to something worthy... like increased police protection or roadway repair. Nothing IMHO, is more emblematic of Portland's governing incompetence than the so-called "Arts Tax".
I am glad there are strong feelings regarding the return of Lincoln to the South Park blocks. But I do not see the “debasement" as Aubrey Russell does nor do I understand who the “we” is that feels "it is wrong for the city of Portland to humiliate Abraham Lincoln.” Nor do I understand why that “we" thinks Portland is humiliating Lincoln by putting him on the ground.
I strongly support the plan of the Office of Arts and Culture to put Abraham Lincoln back in the south park blocks, not on a pedestal but on the earth. I am not aware of the OACs reasoning but to to me, it is a wonderful decision I would like all of us to applaud. Wish I had thought of it. It makes Lincoln meaningful at the very time we need him most. Lincoln would not be comfortable on a pedestal— he said as much when people kneeled or bowed bowed to him. Lincoln in my estimation defines who and what America is —warts and all— an imperfect republic pursuing the beliefs of the Declaration of Independence and an imperfect Constitution. Through most of his life, he was a man of and for the people, conflicted, a public figure living with the people at ground level. He understood divisions that existed. As president in 1861 he never claimed he knew how to deal with the crises he inherited, yet he acted thoughtfully, painfully, opposed and hated by many. But he thought and listened--he evolved. He admitted mistakes. His core beliefs never wavered but they matured, his understanding expanded. By the 20th century no pedestal could hold him. He was in the minds and hearts of publics globally.
The Office of Arts and Culture I hope sticks to its guns and keeps Lincoln on the earth where he belongs. No American leader was more grounded. Let him stand in the South Park blocks, where people can sit with the man while negotiating, struggling with the challenges of their daily lives, and engage more meaningfully with him person to person. Not looking up at him on a pedestal, less approachable, more distant, heroic, perhaps void of flaws-- just another statue ignoring human complexity trying to make a country feel good about itself. In Portland today an iconic Lincoln on a South Park pedestal is not enough, I want to get him down on the ground, have a conversation with another Portlander about who Lincoln was, the complexities, leadership, a human being big enough to be inconsistent as WEB Dubois put it, with understanding, political integrity and courage—a global need in our 21st-century. And a major need in America 250.
Yes, just welcome him back. How will history judge our ethics, morals and human priorities 150 years hence? Will tearing down Abe and Teddy make a difference commensurate with the impact on Portland today? Is the freedom and dignity of humanity worth all the other species we supplant for our comfort and convenience daily? What does our self consciousness obligate us to do (or should obligate us) to do? Are we setting the right priorities here is Portland today? Thanks, Allan.
Allan, I think a lot of your readers feel that politicians in the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the State of Oregon spend an inordinate amount of time and energy with virtue signalling, attempting to teach and instruct the rest of us how we ought to think, feel and believe. They call it Oregon Values™ or Portland Values™ but it's a chimera in their own minds. Frankly, I find having the elites dictate to the rest of us what we are supposed to want or like is at the least irritating, and when it becomes a cultural expectation, very toxic. You may not care where Lincoln stands, but I would guess a lot of people might disagree with you. I see this as just another little slap in the face of Mr and Ms Average Portlander, another little attempt to "improve" our minds and dictate their set of preferences over the hoi polloi.
Thank you, Aubrey.
I agree. There are plenty of others worthy of debasement, but we can honor President Lincoln without dishonoring Indigenous people.
I agree that Lincoln should be on a pedestal to protect him from being debased by people who might not like him and might damage him. Lincoln was quite comfortable telling's stories, and was very much a man of the people, who came out of the soil of Kentucky and Illinois, and earned his reputation as a lawyer as a young man when he negotiated in his defense after getting into some legal trouble transporting people for a fee across the Ohio River. People were repelled by his appearance, but after they heard him speak for a few minutes, they realized he was a man for the ages, whose mark upon the world internationally is still felt far and wide. As flawed as he was, being on a pedestal admired and revered, should be a top priority for the city, to remind us of the burden carried by many in the past to make our country a more perfect Union. If you don't love Lincoln, I don't imagine you can love America. Thanks for the post.
People need to be judged by the culture at the moment in time when they lived and their courage and commitment to addressing the most controversial issues at that time. They may have many glaring flaws as judged by today’s standards. But we would not be having the cultural debates today among our voting citizens were it not for Abe. And Antifa would not have existed as it did.
It seems pretty arrogant to tear down heros of our past because they don't meet the expectations of today's young people who just discovered "the truth". The "truth" is much more complicated. We need to learn it, but we don't need to desecrate noble actions of that moved us closer to the vision we hold today of "all men were created equal", articulated by a slave owner for other slave owners and land-owning men who wanted freedom from kings. We build a culture and redefine the vision on the backs of other people in the past that challenged hypocrisy. Thinking that they should have shared our more "perfect" ideals today is a bit silly. It's not how history works.
Putting him on the ground is worse than leaving him in storage. Not to mention that like most statues the artist designs them to be seen from a designated spot. Lincoln was designed to look down from a plinth. His gaze will be wonky from the ground. And no doubt other parts of the statue will be out of perspective. It’s the same reason Portlandia sits where she does. You can’t change their design to suit your mood.
I am not from Portland but love living here for its beauty, its laid back culture & many other reasons. However, I have lived in many many places in the US & overseas & I am repeatedly astounded by the way this city (managers? politicians?) spends its time on issues such as this. The symbolism of debasing the Lincoln statue by removing its plinth is beyond ridiculous. How much time has been spent in some kind of committee debating it? Worst of all, this is the city’s response to vandalism. Taking years to replace a public statue & then debasing it? So now Lincoln will have the same stature as the guy at the Washington Park rose garden?
This not supposed to be the way things are done. Lawlessness should not lead to concessions.
We have so many other issues that need attention in this city. Let’s not get distracted by this non-issue. Put the statue back up, as it was, & move on.
Aubrey uses typical progressive newspeak with giddy abandon: "...The city coordinated an inclusive and diverse set of perspectives in celebrating the return of the Thompson Elk Fountain..." I can guarantee that some "perspectives" were of no concern to the bureaucrats who kept the animal hidden in a warehouse for several years; the "perspective" that it was ruined by psychopathic vandals who were never stopped or prosecuted and who will use any excuse to go after it any damn time they please and will not be stopped again.
What the progressive apparatchiks are trying to figure out about Lincoln is signage that will waffle about the man's virtues using today's twisted sense of morality to bruise him a bit.
He'll be hidden until the next generation of know-it-all kiddies takes over what's left of the city and, as usual with next generations, repudiates everything their parents held dear.
Great follow up Aubrey on the city’s monuments revisionism and presentism approach to history. Just who in the city is making these choices? Hard to say as the Arts and Culture bureaucrats appear to have as much discretion as they want and when they want it. The city and its arts cabal, RACC, gave a very insightful exhibit by defacing Portland’s statues and monuments that were toppled. This aggression also included a detailed list of all Portland monuments that did not meet the litmus test of purity in todays enlightened local culture. This debasement is all very documented and available for those who want a clearer view of how we got here with the current proposal for Lincoln. If you think that what is happening to Lincoln is unacceptable, just wait for a year or two when Theodore Roosevelt makes his way back, if ever, same with George Washington.
In large part, the city’s actions are being driven, in large part, by a grant from the Mellon Foundation to create a “public engagement” process for the reinterpretation of our monuments to perform a more “contextualized” narrative. You recall Andrew Mellon, a prominent banker, industrialist, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932, faced criticism both during his tenure and in later historical assessments. The Atlantic, February 12, 2026 ran an excellent piece on the influence of the Mellon Foundation; The Multibillion-Dollar Foundation That Controls the Humanities Is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation the last best hope for American arts and letters—or is it killing them? If you’re going to contextualize Lincoln et al, why not Mellon? How about we start with an audit of the city arts and culture cabal and their grant from the Mellon Foundation to try and see who is really driving this historical revisionist agenda?
The headline captures one's attention. To be sure, it was eye catching but reading Aubrey's column was stunning. I was offended by the action to debase Abraham Lincoln. After reading the comments posted, I finally arrived at Henry Kunowski's post. He wrote with convincing factual evidence. IF he is accurate, we know who is responsible. We should appeal to The Oregonian to investigate and publish not only the terms of the Mellon Foundation grants but also all emails among the Art Council's members. Whomever is responsible for removing this icon, and any others, from their pedestals of honor should stand up to public scrutiny. We each have had enough of decisions being made in darkness by elitists. ENOUGH ALREADY
If the city decides to act on this ridiculous idea, any chance I can get a refund on my Arts Tax ?
The City Council is set to increase it in a vote tomorrow, and it will have an inflation clause if I read the proposal correctly. Every citizen should be allowed to opt out of this horrendous "tax", or designate their portion of it to something worthy... like increased police protection or roadway repair. Nothing IMHO, is more emblematic of Portland's governing incompetence than the so-called "Arts Tax".
I am glad there are strong feelings regarding the return of Lincoln to the South Park blocks. But I do not see the “debasement" as Aubrey Russell does nor do I understand who the “we” is that feels "it is wrong for the city of Portland to humiliate Abraham Lincoln.” Nor do I understand why that “we" thinks Portland is humiliating Lincoln by putting him on the ground.
I strongly support the plan of the Office of Arts and Culture to put Abraham Lincoln back in the south park blocks, not on a pedestal but on the earth. I am not aware of the OACs reasoning but to to me, it is a wonderful decision I would like all of us to applaud. Wish I had thought of it. It makes Lincoln meaningful at the very time we need him most. Lincoln would not be comfortable on a pedestal— he said as much when people kneeled or bowed bowed to him. Lincoln in my estimation defines who and what America is —warts and all— an imperfect republic pursuing the beliefs of the Declaration of Independence and an imperfect Constitution. Through most of his life, he was a man of and for the people, conflicted, a public figure living with the people at ground level. He understood divisions that existed. As president in 1861 he never claimed he knew how to deal with the crises he inherited, yet he acted thoughtfully, painfully, opposed and hated by many. But he thought and listened--he evolved. He admitted mistakes. His core beliefs never wavered but they matured, his understanding expanded. By the 20th century no pedestal could hold him. He was in the minds and hearts of publics globally.
The Office of Arts and Culture I hope sticks to its guns and keeps Lincoln on the earth where he belongs. No American leader was more grounded. Let him stand in the South Park blocks, where people can sit with the man while negotiating, struggling with the challenges of their daily lives, and engage more meaningfully with him person to person. Not looking up at him on a pedestal, less approachable, more distant, heroic, perhaps void of flaws-- just another statue ignoring human complexity trying to make a country feel good about itself. In Portland today an iconic Lincoln on a South Park pedestal is not enough, I want to get him down on the ground, have a conversation with another Portlander about who Lincoln was, the complexities, leadership, a human being big enough to be inconsistent as WEB Dubois put it, with understanding, political integrity and courage—a global need in our 21st-century. And a major need in America 250.
Elliott Trommald
Yes, just welcome him back. How will history judge our ethics, morals and human priorities 150 years hence? Will tearing down Abe and Teddy make a difference commensurate with the impact on Portland today? Is the freedom and dignity of humanity worth all the other species we supplant for our comfort and convenience daily? What does our self consciousness obligate us to do (or should obligate us) to do? Are we setting the right priorities here is Portland today? Thanks, Allan.
Allan, I think a lot of your readers feel that politicians in the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the State of Oregon spend an inordinate amount of time and energy with virtue signalling, attempting to teach and instruct the rest of us how we ought to think, feel and believe. They call it Oregon Values™ or Portland Values™ but it's a chimera in their own minds. Frankly, I find having the elites dictate to the rest of us what we are supposed to want or like is at the least irritating, and when it becomes a cultural expectation, very toxic. You may not care where Lincoln stands, but I would guess a lot of people might disagree with you. I see this as just another little slap in the face of Mr and Ms Average Portlander, another little attempt to "improve" our minds and dictate their set of preferences over the hoi polloi.