Recently, many Americans have expressed their disapproval and anger towards confederate statues around the country through many, sometimes violent, methods. Statues have been removed and destroyed by people who claim that the monuments support racism and white supremacy within the nation. However many don’t stop to consider the current purpose they serve especially in our ever-changing society today.
These statues allow us to preserve and remember our history. Most people are concerned with their own opinions pertaining to what the statues stand for and not for their actual historical purpose and what they contribute to our recent history and current state as a nation.
A common misconception is that the statues were built immediately following the Civil War. Directly after the war it was almost a taboo to talk about what happened regarding the South. Our nation was so distraught and embarrassed by these events that it was considered treason to commemorate anything regarding the confederacy or what happened there. Almost a half a century later, a shift occurred where people wanted to remember the South’s history and create monuments that would last so they could better understand where they came from and how it shaped the country as a whole up until that point.
There is a tedious process when choosing how to memorialize a monument and where to put it. Symbolism and thought go into the formation, and a location is specifically chosen. There is a purpose behind it, and we must acknowledge that purpose as one to better educate future generations.
The statues also serve a purpose to honor the event. It is a heinous generalization to say that all confederate soldiers who fought were fighting for the institution of slavery to continue. Many fought in the war and regarded their position with honor because they were able to fight nobly for their cause of separation, their land, and what they believed in. Our country takes great pride in instilling that value into its citizens and we as the people enjoy those freedoms.
To this day many concentration camps remain and serve as museums that remind us as a community of people what happened and the horrors of the experience so that we never have to live through it again.
We must simply learn to take a new perspective and viewpoint regarding how we see monuments. From an open mind and through a historical lens we can understand the statues by what they are meant to show and convey about the past and take that knowledge into the future. We must look at them as learning tools because the past is one of our greatest teachers. We cannot forget what occurred in order to make our present more pleasant.
Racism and white supremacy is in no way condoned by the monuments remaining up. That may be how some people choose to see the monuments, but that is certainly not what they are meant to represent.
We all have our own right to view these commemorative statues in whatever light we choose to see them, however, that does not give us the right to act violently and devalue others for their opinions.
This controversy has many possible solutions if we as a nation are able to agree to understand their importance in the world today. One such solution is to be aware of the significance of monuments in general and place more monuments up dedicated to our present. These monuments will not be confederate monuments, because that is not what defines our country today, but they will be monuments symbolizing our present and what is going on in our generation so that future citizens are able to appreciate what we lived through and accomplished. This is our history and we have to do our duty and preserve it no matter how ugly or emotional it might be.
Another solution is to remove the statues and place them in a safe location where they will not be destroyed but stored away from the masses and kept in places such as museums. Those who wish to see them can go freely and do so.
“History repeats itself.” There’s a reason it’s a saying. If we are not careful and we do not keep in touch with our past and work presently to remember it and preserve it for future generations to understand as we do, then who will?
Lauren Johnston // Backpage Editor
Disagree? Check out another staff member’s opinion on the issue here.
