Monumentality

I am against the toppling or otherwise destroying statues.  Whoa there mister Middle of the Road Hog you say!  “Lefties” think that seems a little too far to the right side of the issue. How can you be so insensitive to the plight of the minorities who suffered in the past? The key phrase is “…in the past.”  I can already see the knives coming out from those who see only painful reminders of where we used to be many years ago.

In some cases many Americans aren’t very far removed from this past, which is exactly why these relics should be preserved!  Not because many aren’t far from the days of Dixie and the Confederacy, but precisely because many aren’t far from those bygone days.  I’m also not saying let’s keep these Monuments where government business is done nor in public places, like parks or town squares for example. So where do we go with these? Let’s consider preserving these instead of destroying them.  Museums is one idea which makes sense (to me, at least).  Now I’ve pissed off the “Right” too – yep, in the Sweet Spot.  

A widely accepted maxim frequently used by both the left and the right side of the political spectrum is the famous quote by the great Spanish philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952), who said in The Life of Reason: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  Another quote comes from German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883), who said in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte(1852): “Hegel remarks somewhere that history tends to repeat itself. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”  As I often say, “People do stupid shit all the time and then they do it again and again.”

One of the many tragedies resulting from when the Islamic State (IS) seized control in Iraq and Syria was their smashing of statues and the destruction of ancient archaeological sites.  They used power tools, assault rifles, pickaxes, sledgehammers, and even explosives to deface statues, demolish carvings, and destroy 2,000-year-old temples.  The heritage destruction by the Islamic State was a well planned effort and is also part of a broad religious framework to validate their actions. Protesters here mainly used ropes and spray paint as part of a mostly disorganized general campaign to be heard.  For example; there were 32 statues/memorials affected by the riots and protests here in the U.S.A.  Seven of these were actually either toppled or mostly destroyed, thirteen were removed by local governments, thirteen were vandalized.  One statue was a “Founding Father” (George Washington), several were Christopher Columbus, while the majority depicted Confederate leaders.  Strangely, also included were several memorials including depictions of a slave auction block, and a Confederate cemetery as well as statues of Ponce De Leon, Conquistadors, former mayors, a politician and a Texas Ranger.  OK, some of us are probably not too disturbed by the damage to the statue of the politician, but nobody should mess with a Texas Ranger!  

Regardless of the intents, effectively both the current protesters and the IS terrorists are attempting to erase history.  Whether the idea is to show support for those who have been wronged or to facilitate enforcing a radical faction of a religion attempting to impose their beliefs, the result is the real possibility a part of history might be taken from our posterity.  History is not there for us to like or dislike.  It is there for us to learn from.  If it offends us, chances are we need it all the more to remind us of where we don’t want to go again.  The protesters are not trampling on our freedom, they are exercising it and attempting to make sure freedom is bestowed on every American equally.  However, there has to be a better way than destruction of statues and monuments.  In Indianapolis Indiana on June 8, the city began removing a monument that memorialized Confederate prisoners of war. Mayor Joe Hogsett (D) said in a statement, “Our streets are filled with voices of anger and anguish, testament to centuries of racism directed at Black Americans. We must name these instances of discrimination and never forget our past – but we should not honor them.”  

We should also remember and acknowledge not everyone and everything from the past was bad.  Here’s another quote (from me), “Those who cannot remember the good stuff from the past will have a hard time repeating it.”