“What should be done about the Confederate Monuments at the Gettysburg National Military Park?”
“This week it’s Robert E. Lee, I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?” – Former President, Donald Trump
You would be hard pressed to find an example of any country that would celebrate another army taking up arms against its own country and, in turn, shedding the blood of its fellow countrymen. Any country except for the U.S., that is-or could you forget that widely distributed throughout the states are more than 700 confederate monuments and statues commemorating just that? To the former president’s statement above I will keep the rebuttal short and simple. The most common portrayal of Thomas Jefferson immortalized in his statue form shows him holding a quill in his right hand which points towards the Declaration of Independence in his left. Likewise, our first president is most often depicted as seated atop one of his horses with a revered posture, commemorating his role in fathering our country, whereas the statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Bloody Bill Anderson can be seen sporting full army regalia and perpetuating a war against the United States- the comparison is just not there, Mr. Trump, please stop ignorantly acting as though it were.
Should your next question be in regards to the removal of these commemorative confederate monuments as being a dishonor to those who gave their lives fighting in the war, my answer lies here- it is a far greater dishonor to those who were killed by such men as the Lees, Stonewalls, and Braggs should their legacy continue to be celebrated in such a way than it would be to strip them of their ill-suited monuments. It is also argued by some that to remove these monuments is to “erase” parts of history altogether, to cover up or cross out the muddier parts of our nation’s past, however, it would do no such thing. History will still be taught, as it will always be taught. We will remember Robert E. Lee, as we will remember Fredrick Douglas, as we will remember Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman, and as we will remember Jefferson Davis.
What one statue can immortalize and celebrate, for good or for bad, scholarly texts can educate and illuminate on, making the maintaining of confederate propaganda utterly devoid of reason or practicality. In past years, unhappy protestors have manually taken down or taken to the destruction of these such monuments on their own in an attempt to rectify the nation’s acceptance of such monuments to remain erect. While the destruction of property, government or personal, is not recommended here, the call to remove these statues has become increasingly real and the call to listen to these demands is only going to get louder. The people are talking to you, America. Are you listening?