A teacher I greatly admired made the comment once that it would be good policy if we only named public facilities and such for persons who had been dead for a generation and whose lives had already been subjected to the perspective of history. I agree with this idea, whether it refers to the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan or the renaming of Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Cape Kennedy (since returned to Canaveral); that sort of public honor needs to be made in a deliberate and lasting manner.

Johnston County’s school board takes a different approach; at their March meeting, they voted 5-2 to name a school library for a Democratic incumbent running for re-election. The board’s two Republicans made a formal protest at this month’s meeting but drew criticism from another Democratic member:

“Naming a public school structure or part thereof for a sitting school board member during a political campaign period is both inappropriate and self-serving,” Donna White read from a prepared statement she and Larry Strickland had signed. …

A prolonged and awkward silence followed White’s reading of the letter. Then board member Kay Carroll piped in.

“Are we going to discuss the letter?” he said. “I think it’s inappropriate and it’s uncalled for.”