There should be a distinction
between a monument that is there
to honor someone or is there to
remember something. Historical
markers at battle sites and other
significant event locations are
important to help people remember
history.
If a monument is meant to honor
someone, it is important to determine
what they are being honored for.
This would mean balancing out good
and bad aspects of what that person
did. For Confederate leaders,
their main accomplishment was
to drastically increase the cost
of ending slavery. Over 360,000
U.S. army soldiers died in the war.
The cost of ending slavery was
enormous, and Confederate leaders
should not be honored for their
role in this bloodshed. Monuments
should be either removed or else
re-purposed as a way of remembering
but not honoring.
In general, people should not feel
that their identity depends on
what their ancestors have done, either
good or bad. My mother’s ancestors
probably included some bloodthirsty
Swedish vikings. I will neither
honor nor apologize for their
pillagings.
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–Douglas Downing
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……………..
douglasadowning 