On killing monuments
LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson
Approximately four months ago, I wrote a column entitled History and Context which was concerned with the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans. I stated the following: “As far as I could determine, democratic and legal processes were followed …The bigger issue is the liberal, politically correct crowd will interpret this effort as a great triumph. Victory will lead inevitably to more demands for social cleansing throughout the country … New Orleans could be a test of the public’s tolerance for revisionism with national implications.”
Recent and ongoing events have proven the above to be true. Now we are engaged in another part of the culture war engineered, fomented and controlled by the left. The objective is to marginalize the president, punish the South which went heavily red, and to label Trump voters as ignorant racists.
Monuments are historical reminders of our painful past, but they are also political tools in the hands of skilled social engineers and propagandists.
Monuments to the Confederacy are coming down daily now, often at night, and within municipalities where the statues or commemoratives have been on display for a century or more. Sometimes due process has been served; other times mob mentality has ruled and statues have been pulled down without legal sanction. Some have been vandalized. Such actions speak to zealotry, not democracy.
There is already talk of removal of national monuments of Founders who owned slaves.
You may believe leftists would not have the audacity to remove memorials and monuments that are part of the national domain. I can assure you they do. They detect weakness on the part of officials, and once engaged the left doesn’t stop.
National monuments endangered include any that represent Washington and Jefferson. The Jefferson Memorial has already come up. Washington Monument could be targeted. Mount Rushmore is another.
If you are scoffing at the possibility, I urge you to analyze what has happened with the Confederate monuments. A few months ago no one was even talking publicly about removal. Now many are gone just like that. Many more will follow.
Why is this happening now instead of, say, during the civil rights movement of fifty-sixty years ago?
Well, the left needs an enemy. It prospers when it targets something or someone to disdain. In this instance the something is monuments; the someone is Donald Trump and those who voted for him. It is a strategy as old as politics, and the left is a master of it.
There are other things to learn.
The progressive tactic we are witnessing is simple: get your foot in the door (New Orleans), mix indignation, real and theatrical, with anger and the element of surprise, then persist until all is gone.
Nothing happens impulsively; first Confederate flags went in cemeteries and such. Now monuments. It is a deliberate, planned progression.
Understand, civil rights and social justice are secondary to lefties to political leverage. A majority of the white vote is already lost to the left; therefore, the black vote is essential for political survival. Demonstrating empathy through activism helps cement that support.
The left is striving to make all things about race because they understand the potency of the racist label. They also enjoy upheaval, the destruction of tradition, and the sowing of uncertainty. Destroying symbols accomplishes those objectives when coupled with propaganda and media support.
Whites in general are now historical villains. Even questioning the legitimacy of the left’s actions can garner the racist tag, but many whites are too quick to embrace the sins committed by people and laws long gone.
Because the left wants to separate Americans from their history, all should take into account the following facts gathered from the 1860 census readily available on the Internet.
Only six percent of Southern whites in 1860 owned slaves. If the North is included, the percentage falls to 1.4. Here is a little known fact: 3,000 free blacks owned 20,000 slaves that year. That doesn’t fit the liberal narrative very well, does it?
Slavery was an abomination practiced by a few. It only existed as long as it did because of political failure and moral compromise.
Many Confederate statues and commemoratives were put in place long ago by organizations that raised the funds privately to do so. Their intention was to recognize the sacrifice and suffering of family and community members and to acknowledge their place in history.
Removing statues within municipalities with local approval is one thing, but removing national icons is another. Those belong to all Americans and everyone must have the right to view them within the totality of their subjects’ contributions. Jefferson was much more than a slave owner.
What will the left do when the statues are gone? Well, there are textbooks, mottos and literature to cleanse as we observe our imperfect heritage being trashed by those who care nothing about it.
And there is a president to compromise via abhorrence, vengeance and all the above. He is, after all, not of their choosing and unworthy.
Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator, author and Bearcat.
