Here are three timely items relevant to our week’s topic. All three point to a lack of nuance in some current debates.

First, an essay in Commentary by an art historian about the recent efforts to remove monuments deemed racist: “Destroying the Past to Purify the Present: The Frenzy Against the Monuments.”

Second, an analysis in the New York Times of President Trump’s comments in the last week directed against critical race theory and related ideas: “More Than Ever, Trump Casts Himself as the Defender of White America.”

Third, from Reason, a brief interview with Steven Pinker about a recent effort to revoke his distinguished fellow status in the Linguistics Society of America: “Steven Pinker Survives Attempted Cancellation.”