On Sunday I am going to Philadelphia for a week. We are planning on going to all of the historic places from Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, and Franklin's Grave. We will be going to three art museums, a baseball game, and two ghost walks. When I come back, I plan on writing a post vacation blog post for anyone that might be interested in going to Philly. I fully suspect I will come home with pictures of Washington, the Declaration of Independence, and many other photos of Founding Fathers. I will be posting those photos. I will be proud of what Patriots did there as the Son's of Liberty were fighting the British Crown. I will not be embarrassed to write about or upload photos on my blog. Therefore, I thought this post needed to be written.
I try to keep most of my politics off of my blog. There are really two things that I really think you know about me based on my blog. 1. I am patriotic and love going to fireworks, and Patriotic events like the reading of the Declaration of Independence. 2. I clearly am in favor of keeping public lands open to the public. I'm kind of a tree hugger but I do understand where paper and oil come from.
Other than those two things, by reading this blog you would not know where I stand on most issues. Of course, friends know and I comment on Facebook when I disagree or even agree with a post. I am not about to make this blog about politics. Unfortunately, to write this post I have to quantify it by explaining some points. I am a left leaning moderate. I don't agree with everything on the Dems side or everything on the right. I do care about the environment as my number one priority so that is usually my vote. However, I am no fan of the president. After saying that, I can tell you I really like my Republican governor Charlie Baker and it would be extremely tough to vote against him. I tell you these things because I want to say unlike our president, I instantly can say neo-Nazi's are evil. KKK members and racists are vile despicable human beings. I also believe if you were at the rally and you hear people yelling "Jews will not replace us" and you don't leave you are a bad person.
When people say that Americans fought against the Nazi's in WWII, I can tell you my own father was there. He had a scar from shrapnel on his stomach to prove it. He fought Nazi's in every Atlantic theater from North Africa to the Battle of the Bulge.
I'm a historian. I love learning about history. I've felt the ghosts at Gettysburg. I've watched widows and sons weep at the Vietnam Memorial. I've tried to learn about the battles my own father fought in. I have watched documentaries about everything from Sparta to JFK to Vietnam. I go to Concord MA a couple times a year and been on many historic vacations. I can say, I am against the statues coming down.
First, let me say all the arguments I've heard in favor of them coming down
1. Lee himself was against Confederate statues.
2. Most of the memorials were put up in the 1920's by KKK members during Jim Crow.
3. They were slave owners.
4. They shouldn't be on public grounds.
5. These statues should be in a museum or knocked down because we should be ashamed of them.
I'll even throw in I thought of and didn't hear. The phrase "put on a pedestal" figuratively means to regard as highly admirable. Statues are literally put on a pedestal.
And you know what I completely agree with the first three and my own thought but I don't think they should come down.
I hate it when a skinhead yells "It's our Heritage!!!" like they should be proud. However, these statues do represent history. Let's at first just deal with Civil War Confederates and leave out Jefferson and Washington for now. Because Confederate statues represent history does not mean we should worship them. Was a Jeff Davis statue erected by racists in the early 20th Century? Probably yes. Did that group admire him for his beliefs on slavery ? Yes. However, that does not mean that we have to. Instead of looking at those statues as things to admire, why not look at them as things we overcame? We are a country of 50 states despite Lee, Stonewall, and Davis. I don't think they should be torn down because they are reminders. They remind us of the bloodiest war in American history and they remind us of the racists that erected them.
I read somewhere that no one uses monuments as instruments of learning. Maybe almost no one does, but I do. Having those monuments there opens a dialog. I don't mean a fight between white supremacists and blacks. I mean a conversation about racism. About Lee at West Point. About Jackson at VMI. Hopefully we can learn from the mistakes of our nation. They should be something to be saddened about, but they should not be things that should be white washed from history.
A quick thought on Lee- the guy was the perfect soldier. He was the only person TO THIS DAY not to get a single demerit at West Point. He showed true bravery during the Mexican War. His battle tactics were brilliant. What he pulled off at Chancelorsville (carried out by Stonewall) was nothing short of genius. You may hate that he fought for the south but you can not argue the man's bravery and military genius.
Jefferson, Washington and any other slave owner that was not part of the Civil War
I have barely agreed with two words in eight months that our President has said, but he was right when he said "what about Jefferson and Washington they were slave owners where will it end?"
Here is the thing you have to remember, our Founding Fathers were flawed. Want to know why? Answer, because they were human. I will grant you this, owning another human being is the most flawed thing I can possibly imagine. How the absolutely brilliant Jefferson did not condemn slavery is beyond me. Make the argument that they were born into it, it was part of the southern economy, anything you want and I'll tell you they should have rose above it. However, just because Washington, Jefferson and others did own slaves, it did not disqualify them of doing other great things.
I'm telling you straight out that if you read enough history (and it doesn't have to be a lot) you learn quickly that this country would be different if not for Washington. As a general sometimes he was a genius and other times he looked inept. However, he kept the army together. He never allowed his army to lose that one big crushing defeat. He always managed to slip away. Maybe another general could have kept the Continental Army together, maybe not. Yet it was Washington. It was Washington that stayed at Valley Forge all winter when he let other officers go home. His men adored him.
It was Washington who after two terms as President stepped down. He could have been President for life but he let go of power. It transferred to the next guy (Adams) and we have had a peaceful transfer of power since. I'm telling you, plain and simple, WE NEEDED WASHINGTON.
Jefferson and JFK are probably the smartest two presidents in US history. Jefferson had a list of accomplishments a mile long. Writer of Declaration of Independence, founding University of VA and a little land grab called the Louisiana Purchase.
There are others who were not nearly as instrumental as those two. I think their statues should stay up. Use them as learning tools. Explain to your child why it was there. Tell them the accomplishment of the individual along with their short comings. I did this with my son in DC.
My last point is actually about two very prominent men in history who I can't stand and think are disgusting. Andrew Jackson and Christopher Columbus. Columbus not only enslaved natives, but he tortured them and responsible for as many as 250,000 deaths. Jackson is responsible for the Trail of Tears. I tell you both men are embarrassments. I still would leave there statues up. I'm going to use the same argument. It is better to talk about their horrific deeds than to forget them.
There is a square in DC dedicated to Jackson. I've been there. I've taken pictures. I've been disgusted that he is admired. Yet, it is better that we know what he did then to erase it from our memory.
Washington DC has statues everywhere. Although we see the big monuments in our calenders and commercials, there are hundreds if not thousands of small monuments. I got a map of them and tried to get pictures of every person I had heard of. I dragged Laurie on the mother of all wild goose chase bike rides one afternoon. The two hardest statues to find were two that I really wanted. Daniel Webster and Martin Luther (not king).
Daniel Webster has a hardened abolitionist. I've been to both his grave and house he was born in. He is buried in Marshfield, MA. If you are anti-Confederate, you would be proud to have a statue of him in our nation's capitol, right? Well, he did agree to a compromise to allow the South to keep slavery because he wanted to keep the Union together. So one of the greatest abolitionist orators of all time compromised on slavery. Knock it down?
Martin Luther started the Protestant religion. He broke away from the Catholic Church. I wanted this photo big time. Why? Well, first off I'm not religious at all. Protestant means no more to me than Catholic, Judism or Hinduism. However, this guy had the balls to stand up to one of the most powerful institutions in the world. I respect that.
Like I said where does it end? US Grant beat Lee in the Civil War, but he called for a charge seven times at Cold Harbor against an entrenched enemy only to get his men slaughtered each time. Monument or Not? Should we take down Darwin Statues because religious people do not believe in evolution? Should we take down the statue of the very religious Joan of Arc because Atheists are offended? No to all, Your not going to appease everyone. No one that has a statue erected of them is perfect. If we give in to one group the next will just expect the same outcome. Sooner or later some idiot is going to be offended by the Statue of Liberty. You know it is coming!!!
One thing that made me happy today- Gettysburg National Military Park put out an announcement they will not be taking down any statues of any kind. I've been to Gettysburg twice. The second time as an adult. You can almost see the blood on the ground or feel the marching of 5000 men through the field. Do I think the Confederate Monuments were erected by Jim Crow Rednecks, probably. But you know what I see when I look at the Alabama state statue? A grieving mother putting money in a donation bucket as a way to remember her son who died there. Don't tell me that didn't also happen. Brave men died on both sides. Did the South fight for "states rights"aka slavery? Yes, but many (very brave) individual soldiers fought because there was a war, mothers cried, and brothers were lost. Did they die any less brave? F- no. Let their story be told
It is okay if we agree or disagree on this subject. I even started my own post with the arguments against me. I really believe that the bad in history is something we overcame for the greater good. The bad should not be forgotten. It should be remembered so we do not make the same mistakes. Will leaving Lee up put him on a pedestal to some white supremacist somewhere? Again, the answer is yes. However, does taking down the statue suddenly mean that racists will stop being racist? Will they all of the sudden stop hating Jews, Blacks, and Catholics? No, No, No. But if enough of us talk about history the good and the bad and why evil needed to be crushed in WWII, maybe we can wean those people out to where they are a very silent minority. My advice is before you come to the conclusion that all these statues come down, learn about history. Visit some of our most historic places. You may not change your mind. We may have to agree to disagree, but at least you decided for yourself and did not just jump on the bandwagon.
As Bill Belichick would say
"On to Phiadelphia"
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