Jeez, rename schools, tear down monuments, and now consider Camp Chase which by the way was only a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers, a parole camp, a muster outpost, and later a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederates and civilians suspected of actively supporting secession and now a cemetery that does annually hold a ceremony to commemorate the Confederate soldiers who had been held and died there. Guess The Hilltop Historical Society better stop placing those Confederate flags on the graves every year!

Next we will redact our history books as we all shouldn’t be reminded of the evil things that we as Americans have done in our past. So it’s ok to protest today with hateful pointless violence and killing activities that we as a civilized society continue today all in the name of claiming that indicators of our evil history should be erased.

In my long years and many places that I have visited, some very horrific, I many times questioned why we memorialized such tragic events in our history. Each time I was pointed to the following saying:

        ’Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ – George Santayana

So today when I look at a monument especially the many in the south I don’t see a monument of hate, I look at the history behind the person or moment in history being memorialized, I look, I learn and realize that for every bad, evil, embarrassing moments in our history there has always been good, growth, and triumphs associated with it. We as a nation, as a country, as a melting pot of people, would not be where we are today if not for the combination of the both. I by no means say this is a favorable model but we has human beings have struggled and will continue to struggle with good and evil.

In an age where our entire history is available in the palm of our hand and current events is shared in a fraction of a second, perhaps we can take a minute or two and use our smartphone to snap a picture of that monument and read the history behind that memorialization instead of snapping a picture of it’s destruction and the hate and violence that went with the process. At least the monument for the decades it’s been there didn’t hurt anyone; it only stirred up feelings that perhaps could have been better guided if the history behind it was understood CLEARLY first and realize the monument is merely referencing a point in time in history and not a point in time of the present.

Monument:

• a statue, building, or other structure erected to commemorate a famous or notable person or event.
• a statue or other structure placed by or over a grave in memory of the dead.
• a building, structure, or site that is of historical importance or interest.

In my research I came across this article with interest: http://thefederalist.com/2017/02/20/erasing-history-makes-us-likely-repeat-mistakes/

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