In response to the brutal, senseless death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement accelerated. There were protests throughout the country—and sometimes violent responses by law enforcement or right-wing activists.
Then, after ignoring them for generations, we looked around and found all sorts of monuments to the Confederacy. They dotted the landscape throughout the South, and even in some northern and northwest states. Schools, parks, military bases, and highways were named after Confederate generals and Confederate lawmakers.
Who erects monuments to losers?
Like waking up from a deep sleep, America did a sudden double take. Why do we have all these monuments celebrating the Confederacy? Currently, we live in the United States of America. The Confederacy rose up against the United States. This is a simple fact; you can’t deny it or pretend it was anything else than a rebellion. (We even called the confederate soldiers “the rebels”!)
The Civil War was started because the Southern states seceded from the Union—and at least seven of the seceding states said openly, in their proclamations of secession, that they did it to preserve “the peculiar institution” of slavery.
Who honors traitors to their country?
However, it really doesn’t matter why they seceded; they tried to leave the United States. This act alone was treason. So why are we celebrating a group of men who committed treason against the United States?
Slowly, these monuments to the Confederacy began to come down. Statues were removed. Schools changed their names. Public parks were renamed. The US Department of Defense renamed a dozen military installations. And, just as before, like in 1865, many Americans smiled and said to themselves that an error had been corrected. It was over. Done. In the past.
Yet, just as in 1865, and the end of Reconstruction in 1875, and the dawn of Jim Crow that lasted for another 85 years, many Americans did not move on. Instead, they developed a deep resentment toward those who wanted to “erase” their history.
One of the best examples of this can be found in Virginia. Mountain View High School used to be named Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Now, it is named Thomas Stonewall Jackson once again. The school board voted 5-1 to reinstate the name. Why? Does it matter why? It doesn’t. The excuses run the gamut, including the fact that he was a “religious” man devoted to his wife and children. He also prayed for the destruction of his enemies, which is not all that Christlike.
