9/7/17 – Drawing Lines
Everyone is drawing lines. The question is where do you draw them?
Here’s what’s happening behind the headlines.
The week before the Charlottesville violence I cautioned against tearing down statues. I said:
“Removal of historical statues is shortsighted. Clearly, there have been ugly chapters in American history. But ripping down statues and similar imagery doesn’t alter that history. Instead they should serve as important reminders of our past. To help guide our behavior going forward.”
My concerns have been validated. Political correctness has led to vandalism.
“We should only tear down the bad statues,” one viewer told me. But who decides what is bad? There are thousands of opinions. Some border on lunacy.
The Lincoln Memorial was vandalized and a bust of the 16th president was destroyed. There are calls to remove statues of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson’s statue was vandalized at the University of Virginia, the college he founded. There are calls to remove Woodrow Wilson’s image and name from Princeton University where he served as school president prior to being elected U.S. President [here, here, here].
Sadly, I could go on.
What responsible adult hasn’t pointed to a scar as a reminder to not repeat a foolish act from their youth? Sometimes we need these reminders.
Political correctness-inspired acts of vandalism are unjustified shameful behavior.
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