I remember reading a couple of years ago that
confederate statues were taken down in New Orleans. Recently, a confederate statue was taken down
at Duke University in Durham. The
University of North Carolina is now embroiled over a statue of a civil war soldier,
Silent Sam, identity unknown. My
reaction was one of sadness. After all,
the statues are a memorial to the young men who fought and died in the Civil
War.
Last week, I read a book by Mitch Landrieu, “In
The Shadow of Statues.” He was the mayor
of New Orleans and the force behind the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee
and two other Confederate statues. I
tried to read the book without bias and concentrate on his reasons.
Landrieu reasoned that the statues are a symbol
of the war the South fought to maintain the way of life that was based on a
slavery economy, not on States Rights.
He said the intent of the statues when they were constructed was to
glorify the culture of the old South. He
strengthens his argument by quoting a young African-American girl visiting New
Orleans and on seeing the Statue of Robert E. Lee, said, “Why does New Orleans
have a statue of a general who fought to keep us slaves?”
I brought this subject up at dinner last night
with our daughter and her family. My
grandson, a high school senior, said he was taught that the intent of the
statues was to glorify the old South based on slavery. However, I feel most people think of them as
honoring the soldiers who fought and died.
Statues and other memorials honoring the soldiers
who fought and died in World War I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and
the War against Terrorism are present in most towns in all 50 states and in our
nation’s capital. If German-Americans,
Japanese-Americans, Korean-Americans or Arab-Americans, feel uncomfortable,
should the memorials be removed?
So where do I come out thinking about the
issue? I can see the point of view that
some people view confederate statues as a symbol of the fight to keep
slavery. I also side with my friends who
say the statues represent the history of a war between the States and memorialize
the brave men who fought and died.
My son-in-law, Peter, loaned me another book to
read, “Confederates in the Attic.”I will continue to read and think about it
some more.
Seasoned Man
stevelem117@gmail.com
