We do not build war memorials to celebrate war, but as a reminder of the tragic cost of war and a warning to future generations. The Civil War settled some things, but for a full century afterwards, Southern Democrats used political means where military means had failed to perpetuate a de facto state of bondage based on the color of people’s skin. This was the last Confederate statue to stand in New Orleans, after three others had been removed from the city within the preceding month. A few minutes later Worley was a bit more definitive in that the issue should be up for debate. Should there be? If you need assistance in figuring out where to buy Industrial Silver, or if you should have any issue placing an order for Silver bullion on APMEX.com, or have any questions regarding our assortment of Industrial Silver products, we are eager to assist you. The louder they clamor, and the more unpopular it becomes to oppose them (thanks to the despicable stunts of these hate-mongering fringe groups), the more they must be resisted. Statues, awards and barracks are what we should reserve for those we choose as examples of our higher ideals. "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. A statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee no longer stands in the U.S. Capitol building. E. Benjamin Andrews/Wikimedia Commons. On May 19th, the New Orleans Police Department gathered around a 16-foot, bronze statue of Robert E. Lee, standing on a 60-foot base, as they prepared for the monument to be taken down. Let's take them down the right way. The statues are a painful reminder of past and present institutionalized racism in the United States. NAACP leaders hoped … If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar. Recent events make clear that we still need these warnings and reminders that violence will not heal our divisions and that silencing unpopular opinions through force will not bring peace. Trump's plans to sign relief bill on Christmas Eve were scrapped last minute. (See story in … It can even dictate how we feel in public … If the Republic is to persevere, we need to be reminded that oppression and persecutions are a significant and pernicious part of our history and that we must be vigilant in every generation. ... and quite honestly, I don’t think folks would have beef if these Confederate statues were relegated to Civil War museums. The council of war decided to stay. The problem of what to do with them has convulsed the US since recent violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, over a proposal to remove a statue of sometime Confederate generalissimo Robert E. Lee. Confederate monuments may be coming down across the country — but a majority of Americans say they should remain in place as historical symbols, a new poll … By removing these memorials, we sanitize the history of the South as though the Civil War magically healed the nation, when in fact war does precisely the opposite. When a statue that pays tribute to a person is erected, is there an implicit promise that the statue will always stand? If I were black and saw a statue of a Confederate soldier, I … Gaston’s Confederate Statue: Should it stay? Confederate monuments nationwide are coming down as the country, fueled by the killings of Black people by white police officers, turns up the volume on its long fight against racism and hate. Of course, the Confederate statue should be moved to Maple Grove, replaced by a plaque to Thomas Brown as a reminder that sometimes, the United States is a country of justice and some times it is not. … CatholicVote Civic Action is inspired and organized by faithful Catholic laity. If we are to erase our memory of slavery altogether, we are to also eliminate the cultural staples that emerged from slavery which still exist today, such as soul food and gospel music. Quite possibly the most controversial topic in America right now is Confederate statues, and whether or not they should be removed. Even more recently, the city of Baltimore announced its intent to remove its own. The backlash began with Amazon and eBay discontinuing their sales of Confederate flags, and continued with the NAACP’s Atlanta chapter calling for the removal of Confederate engravings from Stone Mountain. Civil War monuments bear a constant testimony to all of this history, none of which should be forgotten. It is only right that we should commemorate accomplishments of the past and remember war heroes like Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. Confederate statues: should they stay or should they go. If so, this is exactly why they should remain. 115. That we are still having bloody disputes about these statues now is, to my mind, proof that they are still needed, because we still have not learned the lessons of history that they can teach us. The desire to change our memory of history seems to be a distinctly American mindset. Courtesy of the VMHC. 114. Between 75,000 and 100,000 people – including more than 10,000 former Confederate soldiers – held an all-day, 4-mile parade to the statue, then located in a tobacco field just outside the city. The beheaded statue, as it is, should stay. For a variety of reasons. Removing statues is akin to suppressing the views of those with whom we disagree. In the wake of the recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism in America, there are renewed calls for Confederate monuments around the country to come down—from Birmingham, Alabama, where a 52-foot obelisk known as the Confederate Soldiers … The statue of Robert E. Lee at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond. The whites really stay at it, goddamn. Confederate monuments should stay in public because taking them down … They commemorate events that took place at those specific locations and are totally what belongs there. That offensive and shameful statue of a Confederate (traitor, racist, defender of slavery) soldier should be replaced with one of Larry Yates. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place? No Confederate statues were removed in South Carolina. December deadliest month of COVID-19 pandemic. Should Confederate statues stay or go? A 106-year-old statue of Confederate soldiers will remain on public property unless opponents raise enough money to move it to a private cemetery, officials decided. Our daily email recaps the big issues of the day from a fresh perspective. We do not build war memorials to celebrate war, but as a reminder of the tragic cost of war and a warning to future generations. These memorials were built because a majority of the people in the South continued to hold racist and secessionist views–a fact which should give us pause about the wisdom of the majority. "The statue needs to stay in front of the courthouse because it says that the people of this county do honor our great grandfathers." In this respect, I would like to believe these monuments now represent a double defeat–although perhaps, sadly, it is still too soon to say so. If you need assistance in figuring out where to buy Silver Eagles, or if you should have any issue placing an order for Silver bullion on APMEX.com, we are eager to assist you. I’ve heard many arguments as to why statues commemorating Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and other Confederate war heroes should come down in Charlottesville; and not many why they should stay… Confederate statues are 'billboards for racism.' In Europe, concentration camps still stand, as do the sites built for Hitler’s Nazi rallies. Confederate statues remind blacks of the torture, death, slavery, slave sales, and other forms of oppression their people suffered. Confederate monuments and statues need to stay to preserve the history of the United States so it is not repeated, but the meaning to them should be altered to show segregation is immoral. These generals may be dead and gone, but people who share their hateful worldview are still with us. At least nine bills altering or eliminating the Heritage Act have been filed before the 2021 General Assembly session starts Tuesday. If so, this is exactly why they should remain. The push to drop Stephens in favor of Lewis, who served as … New Orleans was not the first city to erase its commemorations of the Confederacy, and it will not be the last. Making ugly things go away from our immediate field of view may seem like a victory for a time, but forcing our opponents into hiding is not the same as conversion. Many argue that the monuments should remain simply for the sake of southern pride, and that is a valid argument. Democrats want to remove this history without taking the blame for it and without acknowledging the “soft bigotry of low expectations” that they perpetuate to this very day. First, and foremost, Domby erroneously proclaims that the signature Confederate statues erected in Southern courthouse squares between 1900 and 1920 were chiefly installed to celebrate white supremacy. Today, on its website, The United Daughters of The Confederacy says, the Confederate Soldier statues should remain in place for their role in history. It has likely existed in nascence for a few decades but escalated greatly in the wake of a shooting at an African-American church in Charleston, S.C., in July of 2015. Fans, and even those who aren't lovers of the country music scene, are hoping that the powers that be in Tennessee will see fit to remove a confederate statue and replace it with none other than a … Does the U.S. Constitution Need an Equal Rights Amendment? Nor is the debate over these removals new. Yet the statues that stood in New Orleans were the last Confederate statues to stand in any major city, save for those in the Arlington National Cemetery and in Baltimore. When statues were first erected honouring Confederate generals or notable slave-owning citizens, the white population in the southern states would, by and large, have nodded with approval. We are nothing if not composed of our heritage, and to southerners, the Confederacy means a great deal. Sean W. Cooper, Staff WriterJune 28, 2017. The act of removing these historical artifacts is no doubt one done in the name of political correctness. The halls of Congress are the very heart of our Democracy, and the statues within the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans. The Lydia Leister house is where Union General George G. Meade made his headquarters during the Battle of Gettysburg. Many people have observed that Confederate memorials were mainly erected in defiance of progress towards civil rights for liberated slaves and their descendants. … Let’s be clear that there is nothing wrong with being politically correct if doing so also means being logically correct. It is only right that we should commemorate accomplishments of the past and remember war heroes like Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. Should … 113. Just because something is popular does not mean it is right and just, and our Constitution provides checks on the power of the people–and of the states–for precisely this reason. Being a resident of a Northern city with no Confederate statues, I never gave this issue much thought. Americans are outraged that their communities would still honor those who fought to preserve slavery. to his many friends during 30 years in high level jobs in business and politics in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and … All the memorials in the world to General Grant and General Sherman won’t change this fact, and every statue of General Lee that is destroyed will only confirm it. The Confederate Monument, University of North Carolina, commonly known as Silent Sam, is a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier by Canadian sculptor John A. Wilson, which stood on the historic McCorkle Place of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) from 1913 until it was pulled down by protestors on August 20, 2018. Moreover, if we are to erase history, we are to disregard the millions of African-Americans who live in the United States today, as the vast majority are descendants of slaves. Furthermore, the claim that these artifacts are “racist” comes with an ignorance for what the Confederacy represented and why the Civil War was fought. The statues and monuments that are at the battlefields and cemeteries should stay where they are. Should National Monuments Be Protected by the Government? Public art challenges, changes and shapes the way we see things. A state law passed in 2000 when lawmakers removed the Confederate flag from atop the Statehouse dome requires a two-thirds … Indeed too, some of the logical ramifications of these removals do not add up as entirely positive. Not so fast on removing monuments. The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his mount, Traveler, face the setting sun on Monument Ave. in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. A Microsoft 365 subscription offers an ad-free interface, custom domains, enhanced security options, the full desktop version of Office, and 1 … Many argue that the monuments should remain simply for the sake of southern pride, and that is a valid argument. NC officials respond to Trump insurrection, House votes to impeach Trump for the second time, OPINION: Capitol Hill protests depict racial disparities in policing, NC Senator Thom Tillis co-sponsors bill making streaming pirated content a felony, OPINION: A Biden presidency will heal the nation, OPINION: America cannot afford another shutdown, OPINION: Post-election violence solves nothing, Joe Biden elected as 46th president of United States, © 2021 • Advertise • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO • Log in. An NPR/PBS NewsHour poll released this month found that 44 percent of African-Americans believe Confederate memorials should stay, compared with 40 percent who say they should … Before we start condemning every park, street, monument, or public building named … COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican South Carolina legislative leaders are unlikely to give permission this year to local governments or colleges who want to take down Confederate statues or rename buildings honouring segregationists. Recent discussions about schools and statues in the Paso del Norte region named after Confederate soldiers and a 16th-century Spanish explorer raised the issue of how much Latino history is understood and The University of Texas at El Paso’s role in how it is taught. Things you should get rid of before the end of the year REDBOOK New images from Hubble telescope released to celebrate its 30th anniversary WMUR 2020: The year in photos AP The monument, which Virginia contributed the … In plain terms, if a person is made to feel marginalized by the presence of a statue of a Confederate general who “fought for slavery,” then there must be someone for whom the statue is … Confederate statues honor the Confederate war heroes and soldiers with buildings, statues, plaques and other forms of commemoration of the Confederacy; and now those buildings and statues are causing violence and arguments throughout the United States. For the Sake of the Second Amendment, and State and Local Republicans, We Should Still Vote Republican by Gene Kizer, Jr. [PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Also included with this article is a brilliant piece entitled “Overcoming the Court’s Abdication in Texas V. Pennsylvania” by conservative attorneys William J. Olson and Patrick M. McSweeney” dated December 24, 2020. Asserting that many of the Confederate monuments nationwide are symbolic of the “Lost Cause” that has attempted to cover up racist ideology, a prominent Civil War expert from the University ... Confederate flags are being removed and banned from graves of former Confederate veterans. “It’s worth discussing,” Worley said, “and I’ll bring it up.” A 2015 North Carolina law all but prohibits the permanent removal of Confederate statues from public land. We've developed a suite of premium Outlook features for people with advanced email and calendar needs. Expand your Outlook. Kevin Ellis 6/11/2020. But Trump is right to say that Confederate monuments should stay where they are. The push to erase the artifacts of the Confederacy simply isn’t as “progressive” as many would care to believe. Days after a violent rally by right-wing groups to protest removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, 62 per cent of people said the statues should remain as historical symbols. A statue of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis could soon replace the likeness of Alexander Stephens, a slave owner and vice president of the Confederacy, in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol, under a bipartisan resolution introduced Wednesday in the Georgia House. In the time since that visit, I have listened much more closely to the concerns of those who live in the shadows of Confederate statues, who see their removal as the next step in … Percy Joseph Mills Jr., better known as P.J. Why We Should Keep The Confederate Monuments Where They Are We represent the voices of millions of Catholics across America who seek to renew our country and our culture, in full communion with and 100% faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. In a perfect world, every statue in the public square would be a saint, but we do not live in a perfect world. They are reminded that Rosa Parks had to fight for her seat on the bus because the society in which Rosa Parks lived didn’t see her as equal to a white man. Late in the evening of July 2, Meade held a council of war in this house to decide if the Union army should stay and hold their hard-fought high ground or abandon their position. You don't have to live in Nashville, or even the south, to know the name Dolly Parton, and fans of the notable country singer want to make sure things stay that way.. If we built one in the past that does not reflect our values today we need not destroy it, but we need not leave it up as an example of that to which we aspire. In truth, they were erected because the old soldiers were fading away. The typical surviving Confederate veteran was aged 60 in 1900 and 80 in 1920. For many who have ancestors in the South, monuments and memorials commemorate relatives who struggled for what they, at the time, believed to be freedom. Every monument to the vanquished military leaders is in truth also a monument to some politician who manipulated public opinion to prolong racial and sectional animosity. Many people have observed that Confederate memorials were mainly erected in defiance of progress towards civil rights for liberated slaves and their descendants. Its former location has been described as … Jun 12, 2020. Instead of wrapping themselves in insular urban “safe spaces,” liberals need to be confronted with the reality that ugly and vile ideas still loom in plain sight, and furthermore, that violence will only perpetuate it for yet another century. He criticized efforts in a growing number of U.S. states, including Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, to remove statues honoring Confederate leaders. For this reason, we do not claim to speak for any individual bishop or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. STAY CONNECTED. It is altogether fitting then that we preserve monuments to human folly and hubris, lest we think better of ourselves than we truly deserve. Monuments should speak for themselves, they declared. Dare I say America needs to be reminded that the causes of the South’s secession were primarily economic, and that slavery was an added factor following the Emancipation Proclamation. It's appropriate and those places would be forlorn and barren, bereft without the plaques, stone and statues to relate to the battles and dead. Confederate heritage groups derided the need for an interpretive sign. Between 75,000 and 100,000 people – including more than 10,000 former Confederate soldiers – held an all-day, 4-mile parade to the statue, then located in a tobacco field just outside the city. 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