Street-level activism
LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson
Having little left in terms of the presidency, Congress, the Supreme Court, and governorships, liberals have turned to social reconstruction through street-level activism.
This has led to the removal of statues and other icons that are connected to our politically incorrect past. While the noise from the recent onslaught against all things Confederate has subsided a bit, there is no reason to think lefties are finished. There are thousands of statues, memorials and reminders to be banished because liberals say so.
This process came about now as part of the move to discredit our history. It also has to do with presenting a fresh social justice issue to rev up the faithful. All is carefully orchestrated and exploited, and any directive won is considered license to impose another.
It’s politics, folks, and not the good kind.
The left won the statue point by moving fast, by labeling anyone challenging it as racist, and by harnessing the biased big media workhorse. They have even managed to make what they have done seem the fault of others.
From this, the left has extracted power in a non-election year. They may push hard for more cleansing, or they may assess the political fallout for a while, then come back with more demands when opportunity improves. If you think they are sated, think again. They’re just getting started.
What’s up next?
Well, I suggest an old-fashioned book burning. How about at the local courthouse in front of the memorial that recognizes the service of hundreds of Nodaway Countians who fought against tyranny. Oh! The irony would be so delicious! And wouldn’t it be wonderful for young people learning to hate their country for the first time to see the true leftist purpose!
What to burn? How about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, arguably the great American novel. The problem with the book is Twain used a particular racial pejorative in the vernacular of the time. In the liberal mind that is enough. The book’s theme that we are all our brother’s keeper will be lost in the burning, but sacrifices have to be made.
Burn it! We don’t want to make the left unhappy. Besides, one word is more important than big ideas, right?
Let’s burn Gone With the Wind, the classic novel that has earned the scorn of liberals by presenting a romanticized view of Southern life in the Civil War era. Only suffering will do.
Pile high the pyre! Pour on the gasoline! Burn, baby, burn!
Let’s burn To Kill a Mockingbird. Its fault is some of the book is about the trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman. That won‘t do. Besides, it’s set in the South and doesn’t fit idealistically with the way the left wants the time period to read. Realism? Doesn’t matter. Honorable characters? Who cares? Great story? No one reads anyway.
So burn it! Let’s appease liberal sensibilities. That would be better than an honest confrontation with reality, don‘t you think?
Wait a minute!
Why is it only the left gets to cleanse? Shouldn’t everyone have the right to scrub in the interest of fixing awful America?
I think all recognitions of Andrew Jackson, the founder of the modern Democratic party, should be removed. Not only was Jackson a slave owner, but he advanced the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that relocated several Indian tribes in what is now Oklahoma. The means of transportation, walking hundreds of miles, caused the aptly named Trail of Tears. Thousands of native Americans, you see, died in the transition (one source: American Lion by John Meacham).
Jackson has to go.
All references to Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, must be removed. Why? Well, Woody was a racist. He viewed black people as inferior and insulted those who came to the White House. He supported segregation and prevented blacks from holding good jobs at the federal level. He set race relations back years (source: Wilson by A. Scott Berg).
Woody has to go.
All recognitions of FDR, also a Dem, should be removed. Roosevelt, you see, issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. The order forced thousands of first-generation Japanese living in America into internment camps. Most forfeited property and businesses. It was war, you see, but why should that be considered?
FDR has to go.
What about Missouri’s favorite Democrat, Harry Truman? Harry was known to use racial pejoratives and tell racial jokes (source: Truman by David McCullough). Why should his many other contributions be a factor?
Harry has to go.
Well, unless party means more than one’s sins. Then Harry and the others can stay, despite the fact they were human, imperfect and products of their time, so very like those who wore the gray and were once remembered.
Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator, author and Bearcat.
