The Vestiges of Hatred

We cannot change history, but we can change the way we deal with it. We can write about it, talk about it, or memorialize it. In every case, our dealings with history change as time passes. An event is an event, but consideration of it years later can swing greatly.

The vast majority of monuments are honorary. The confederate statues honor Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and a number of other defenders of a slave-driven economy. Should they be honored? Perhaps this comparison is a bit off the wall, but, to make my point, would we welcome a statue of Adolf Hitler in the middle of Central Park? The confederates given statues, and those with army bases and schools named for them, were trying to maintain slavery. Not honorable by any measure.

While confederate flags have been removed from state buildings, it’s troubling to see the stars on cross-bars still being waved by white nationalist groups — not only in the South, but the North as well.

Removing the symbolic vestiges of that most tragic time in our history is important. But dealing with those who still espouse it, as well as with those espousing other forms of religious and national hatreds, is critical.