After Charlottesville, President Trump asked, "are we going to remove the statues of Washington and Jefferson?" "When does it end?" Of course, Washington and Jefferson was not the issue in Charlottesville. It was the statue of Robert E. Lee. It was Trump's way to try and divide the country even more because division is part of his political strategy. Conservative opinion writer Tim Morris in a Times Picayune article dated August 27 as usual tries to give Trump's statement credibility.
What happened in Charlottesville concerned the confederacy and the statue of General Robert E. Lee. Washington and Jefferson did not live to see the confederacy or the civil war and the 11 confederate states that seceded from the union took place in 1860 and 1861, long after both Washington and Jefferson passed away. Trump, who lacks knowledge of history made the wrong comparison. Both Washington and Jefferson were Presidents of the United States and the statues and monuments that honor them do so in memory of their great contributions to our country. The same can be said about Andrew Jackson plus his actions in the battle of New Orleans which honors him with a statue in Jackson Square in New Orleans.
Morris says its okay for the statue of Robert E. Lee to come down but was not so kind to Mayor Mitch Landrieu when he removed Lee's statue and two other ones. The Mayor did what he did to take away the possible threat of violence because there are people who would use any excuse to start trouble. Landrieu bit the bullet and the criticism that went along with his decision. On the other hand, Trump used Charlottesville to introduce some thing unrelated to what happened there to divide the people.
The history of the confederacy and the civil war is not about statues or monuments. That came long after the war. All three are man made but history honors and is a record about heroic men and women who never had a statue or monument made in their honor. Slavery had its time in our history and was a fact. What we will never know for sure is what would be those slave owners position if they were living today. Slavery was not the only reason the southern confederacy seceded from the union.
Slavery to some is a catch all and excuse to make trouble. And there are those who still deny slavery ever existed. And the hate groups that would do any thing to cause trouble and promote racism. Statues and monuments became the excuse and all seems to snow ball from there. What the country, the states and the cities need the most are elected officials with wisdom to address the issues and not use the issues to divide us.
America has a history of overcoming its most darkest of times because our people understand the bad times do not define who we really are and as a whole we are able to deal with the facts. And America will not allow the statue/monument issue change the true history of the past. To divide is to weaken. To unite is strength. And yes, understanding the mistakes of the past is still the key for a better future.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
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