Charlottesville
How can future generations learn from the mistakes of past if we erase the mistakes of the past?
First, this article is not about blame. If you want to know who to blame, tune in to or read your favorite opinion media outlet. They will tell you what to think. Let’s start with some basic constants.
1- August 13th was a bleak day for America.
2- Neo-Nazis, KKK, or any other white supremacist group is always offensive and always wrong. Left wing radical groups are no better.
So, on August 13th, 2017 in Charlottesville, VA, two vehemently opposing groups who use violence as a tactic confronted each other over an issue that one regards as offensive while the other regards it as part of their tradition. What could go wrong? In addition to the riot, the opinion media analysis. They told us what’s really important is………………………Trump! They all used the” 3 bears’ analysis.”
He didn’t say enough. He said too much or said it wrong. He said it just right. NEWSFLASH. The riot was not about Trump! He didn’t start it and he’s not going to fix it. It’s about free speech. The Constitution isn’t easy. The 1st Amendment says you have to acknowledge something that makes your blood boil. You have to listen to someone yell at the top of his lungs not only what you find wrong, but offensive. Nope, not easy. Nevertheless, it exists and is a cornerstone of our system of justice.
I object, in principle, to the removal of statues and memorials by a mob. First, there is legal recourse. City and state legislatures have the authority to vote for their removal. That’s how we’re supposed to do things here. Second, what gives a mob the right to make decisions for me? When do their rights end and mine begin? Third, it’s that slippery slope again. If the rationale is that slavery is repugnant, which it is, at least by today’s standards, then let’s tear down all monuments and erase from memory all those who adhered to such a lifestyle. Why stop with Robert E Lee? Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Plato, and Muhammed all owned slaves.
A featured character in Tom Sawyer was “nigger Jim”. Should we include Twain on our list of deplorables? Do we tear down their memorials? Do we ban their books? Orrrr, maybe I’ll start my own hate group. You know Woodrow Wilson was a racist. FDR, a Holocaust denier. He chose NOT to bomb the train tracks to Auschwitz. He turned away the only ship ever to be denied a landing at an American dock, the St. Louis. What if I could raise enough money, make enough noise, and use violence as MY tactic to tear down memorials and erase these offenders from our history books? Come join me. You too can make a difference. Hmmm, just trying to make a point.
The truth is hate groups who spew their venom under the umbrella of “free speech,” aren’t successful unless they are denying you your free speech. The other truth, however, is that slavery was an accepted way of life in most cultures throughout history. Does that absolve history? No. But instead of erasing it from memory, we should use it. Use it to teach. That historical figure, that passage was wrong then and is wrong now. How can future generations learn from the mistakes of past if we erase the mistakes of the past?
“Sweet are the uses of adversity.” William Shakespeare, “As You Like It.”
