When in the world did we start trying to deny the existence of things we don't like?
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Since the beginning of time. To destroy reminders of the past in works of art and literature is very ISIS and Taliban and Mao and Lenin worthy...and before them the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Moors, the Catholic church. What's next?...labeling disagree speech as hate speech?...demonizing/punishing those with whom we disagree?
Isn't it interesting that the 14th and 15th amendments still excluded women from having the right to vote? Perhaps us gals should campaign to have all the statues of men who served in government or the military prior to 1920 removed from the public square. MLK was against same-sex marriage, so were many political and religious leaders - maybe their statues should be removed too. Slaves had no rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?...neither do unborn babes. Americans of Japanese or Chinese descent can certainly find something to rally against. Columbus was Latino and stupid Custer served in the Union Army and met his well deserved fate at the Little Big Horn. The myth of the noble 'savage' is revealed by history - they were invaders and warriors - engaging in slavery and massacres of the enemy. Does anyone really believe that they only developed weapons of war after Columbus discovered the new world?
My point being - we can all find a cause to rally the mob and attempt to destroy, shout down or rewrite history. The removal of statues differs little from burning or banning books...it is the refuge of the uninformed and/or the fanatic follower. Saints preserve us from the self-righteous practitioners of political correctness. The founders made an attempt to do that, within the world they lived in, as imperfect as it is. History is messy - we should remember that.
I agree. And I really haven't learned a lot from statues and it seems a lot of people here haven't either with this revisionist history we try to write about the reasons for rebellion.
IF we had a group of American's rebelling against the right for women to vote and going to war against the US, I would want their statues off the property of the Government they tried to overthrow as well. If MLK created an army and waged war nearly capturing the President for the purpose of taking away the human rights of homosexuals, I would want his statues removed as well.
The issue isn't that Lee and Davis and others were flawed people by today's standards. It's that they rebelled and took up arms and tried to overthrow the USA.