Taking the High Rhodes: The White Man's Burden. (Ha. Ha.)

Pre-Script: February 4 was King Leopold II's birthday. We should have had a party in class with little pointed hats and streamers and a cake decorated with bloody frosting. How festive! Moving on--

Dear Mr. Conroy,

It would be rather boring to say that I agree with your argument, but I do. However, I think that we are being far too modern in our consideration of Rhodes' morality. Now, his divisive actions seem immoral, narcissistic, and violent, but at the time he was considered to be quite the hero. His accomplishments are rather amazing, if one thinks of them objectively; he traveled to "the Dark Continent" all on his lonesome and somehow managed to successfully imperialize a large chunk of southern Africa. He was the intrepid personification of Daring and Adventure, two qualities that were highly thought of in the imperialist age. At the time, the Africans were seen as much less than human, and so his less-than-humane conquering would have been largely ignored. Naturally, the Dutch would have been outraged at the role he played in the Boer War, but since Britain was such a huge imperialist presence, their collective anger did little to tarnish his image. Rhodes was Kipling's poster boy. Even after Rhodes' actions became morally unacceptable in the eyes of society, it would be politically unfair for Britain to discredit the man who single-handedly expanded their empire. The scholarship is proof of this; Rhodes had money, and the scholarship can be seen as Britain's way of honoring his vast, nationalistic wealth. He did a lot for the Motherland, and in return, they have to keep his good name good.