“Presentism” is a word generally only known and tossed about by historians.
Presentism “is the attitude that current issues and problems can be addressed by using current data and information without reference to how those issues and problems developed,” said Augusta University historian Hubert van Tuyll. “It also means ignoring the ways in which a culture developed over time; rather, it refers to the imposition of current ideas and constructs on the past.”
The dictionary definition of presentism is a little different from van Tuyll’s: “uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts.”
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Augustans who responded to The Augusta Press survey on the proposed renaming of Fort Gordon seem to see that prospect as a kind of presentism.
The most commonly selected response to the question was “None of the above.” It received 336 votes out of a total 690 cast. Second most common answer was “Other.” Those who specified what the other should be listed some variation of “Fort Gordon” or “leave it as is” more than 125 votes.
A total of 182 people, or 26.4 percent of those who responded, chose the “Other” category, and they listed some intriguing possible names: Fort Trump; Fort Augusta—with the added suggested that the bases up for renaming be named for their locations; Fort Snowflake; and Fort Courage.
The third most popular choice was Fort Dyess for Augusta native Jimmy Dyess, which received 11 percent of the votes. The fourth most popular choice was Fort Barton of Raymond Barton who commanded the 4th Infantry during the D-Day invasion.
None of the other choices, including Fort Hogan for Hulk Hogan or Fort Woodruff for Judy Woodruff, both Augusta natives, received even 2 percent of the votes. Fort Butterfly, a reference to “Gone with the Wind” actress Butterfly McQueen who grew up in Augusta and died here, barely received 1 percent of the votes for a total of seven.
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As for Gordon Highway, the majority of respondents believed its name should be unchanged as well. Nearly 50 percent chose the “None of the above” response. The “Other” category received 20 percent of the votes, and the suggestion that the name Gordon Highway be retained but switch those it’s named for from the Confederate general to local people such as Wycliff and Karen Gordon.
Suggested new names included Trump Highway, James Brown Highway and John Lewis Highway.
According to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, the US military base located in Augusta is to be stripped of the name honoring Gordon and replaced with a new name by 2024.
The legislation does, however, have a provision that considers “local sensitivities.”
Survey results seem to indicate the majority of those who responded would prefer to leave names as they are. However, it should be noted that this survey was based on a convenience sample. That means those who responded chose to do so. They were not selected using any sort of scientific method.
Most likely, those responded were those who had strong opinions on the issue. That is what generally happens when convenience surveys are employed, according to Augusta Press editor Debbie Reddin van Tuyll, who has experience both doing surveys for her academic research and teaching survey methods in her classes at Augusta University.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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