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Statues and Monuments Don’t Celebrate History — They Idealize It
History is fluid and demands evolved understanding
Calls and actions to remove various statues and monuments around the United States this year have sprung from increased protests and advocacy regarding racism and systems of oppression. By contrast, some like President Donald Trump, believe such symbols are sacred and are willing to go to great lengths to protect and preserve them — including recently dispatching National Guard troops to guard those in Washington, DC. This mindset is a fool’s errand, as statues and monuments don’t celebrate and honor history; they idealize it from the perspective of a select few, which is in turn projected on to everyone else.
The backlash against these hunks of shaped stone and metals is long overdue. Legacies fail to age well, particularly those of humans; the most fallible of all species. It’s true nobody is perfect but questioning the appropriateness of immortalizing those who whether in life or afterwards were known to be bad people is not a product of political correctness or “Cancel Culture.” It’s re-examining aspects of our society and determining if they still represent our values and how we want to shape the future.
Consider some of the most divisive of statue and monument subjects. Christopher Columbus…
