After WWII, Germany decided not to teach their children about the Nazi history of their country — the rise of the party, the rise of Hitler, the atrocities done by that political party. In time, Germans seemed to forget their history about that era, and their nation began to see a rise in Neo-Nazis as part of an anti-immigrant movement because younger citizens did not understand the truly great danger that they posed to a free society. The German leaders realized their mistake in trying to ignore what their Nazi leaders had done, so they started teaching once again about that era, completely and with balance so that future generations could be warned. Their leaders today disavowed Nazis and Neo-Nazis in no uncertain terms, and have worked hard to keep them at the fringes of German society so that they can never again rule Germany.
Today, after the horror of Charlottesville, we face a similar problem. I can truly understand the desire to rid ourselves of the statues that stand for the racist, confederacy views of the Old South. Our history of racism, still ongoing to our national shame, is part of who we are as a nation. It was enshrined originally in our Constitution, but as we grew, we amended our Constitution and our laws to try to address the issue. Racial inequality is a heinous stain on us as a people, but trying to erase all symbols of it may be doing future generations a disservice on both sides of the racial divides.
We cannot erase our history unless we wish to forget it and give the likes of the White Supremacy movement a way back into our social structure, instead of relegating them to the dustbin of history. So, I would make a suggestion to every city planning on removing these statues: Do not remove them. Modify them.
For example, in Charlottesville, VA, take down the Robert E. Lee statue from its pedestal temporarily. Store it away while an addition to that statue is crafted. The addition is a statue of Heather Heyer and four other figures representing all five races, holding hands in solidarity. Place the General’s statue at ground level, blocked by these five figures. Erect a plaque for the tableau that states the following:
General Robert E. Lee
U. S. Army Traitor, Confederate General
Surrendered the Southern Confederacy at Appomattox, VA, 1865
In Memoriam to Heather Heyer, General Lee’s latest victim
Killed by a White Supremacist, August 11, 2017
We stand together to defeat hate and defeat General Lee’s beliefs.
History will not be forgotten!
They can then rename the park after Heather Heyer.
If the South does not allow its history to be erased by removing these statues, but instead identifies them as symbols of the hate and racism that tore this nation apart in the Civil War, and works to make sure that all children learn about how racism and hate stand in the way of true American unity, then groups within the Alt-Right cannot win because they cannot fill the void with their lies.
If we are to erase the evil in our society, we must start with educating each generation about the past evils that have tried to undermine our society. When we ignore evil, it thrives in the darkness. We saw the results of this in Charlottesville this past weekend. We cannot allow white supremacists and twisted Evangelical radicals like Betsey DeVos to rewrite our history. We must stand against racism with facts and we must teach our children acceptance, tolerance, and their history (good and bad) so that they can discern lies, like we are a Christian nation or a White nation, in the future.
We must not remove these statues, no matter how heinous the things they stood for or that they are reminders of a dead Southern Confederacy. They are part of our American history — and must be held up as examples of failed ideologies and hate. Do not tear them down — identify them as people who were traitors, bigots, and losers to a greater ideal. An ideal of a unified America where all people are created equal with the same rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Modify them to depict a stand against what they stood for so that everyone can see the truth.
Do not hide from our history — teach our children all of our history and teach them why it is important that we know that we can be better than what these statues stand for. Hiding history away only emboldens those who would twist it into a lie while taking away our rights. We must expose our history, warts and all, and we must teach our future generations the dangers so that online sites cannot twist them into killers like Dylan Roof or Heather Heyer’s killer.
History must be our guidepost, and we cannot bury it away without giving in to those who would take away our rights as Americans.