Tag: Statues

Why Historical Statues Need To Be Preserved

We are living in truly disturbing times.

Although much could be said on this topic, in the interest of time the following commentary will be limited to a discussion of the destruction of historical monuments and statues that were intended to commemorate past individuals and/or events of national importance.

Centuries old historical figures and their counterpart statues are presently being deconstructed by activist left-wing zealots.

Rather than focusing on the character, courage, and altruism of former civic ancestors, those bent on destruction are purposefully displacing them from the context of their respective historical time periods, only to hold them to modern-day standards.

The following example is one that is currently in the news.

The Democrat-led New York City Council has advanced a bill that, if passed, will result in the removal of works of art, including statues that depict some of America’s most influential historical figures.

Statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Christopher Columbus, and many others are on New York City’s potential chopping block.

These are individuals who have played enormously important roles in the creation of America. Their statues serve as reminders of the contributions that they made and ideals they held, which enabled them to lead a people from autocratic rule to representative democracy.

The removal of such statues is part of a woke handbook, which seeks to redact from the pages of history those whose life stories don’t fit the desired narrative of those presently in power.

The Long Island town of Brookhaven is coming to the rescue, offering to take possession of the statues and even cover the costs for dismantling and shipping them.

Reportedly, officials have indicated that they already have spaces available for placing the statues in Brookhaven’s 20-plus parks.

In a letter to NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Edward Romaine detailed how important some of the historical figures are to the community, including how Washington had toured the town and founding father William Floyd had called it home.

“The Brookhaven Town Board knows the importance of our history in bringing us to the place we are today,” the letter states. “If we look through our eyes today and try to judge them for what they did years ago as some people may do they come away with a different view. I look at their contribution to history overall, I look at what they’ve done.”

When deciding whom to commemorate, either by statues, monuments, holidays, currency, stamps, or names of towns, schools, and streets, we choose individuals who have made exceptional contributions to society. In so doing, we sometimes prefer to look at the greater good that has been done and permit it to outweigh the human failings.

If you are puzzled as to why someone would demonize Washington, the Father of the Country, or Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, you are not alone.

The reason may be rooted in a lack of appreciation for and understanding of the destiny-altering period in our nation’s birth, the Revolutionary War.

One of the finest films ever made dealing with this historical period is “The Patriot.”

Roland Emmerich directed the epic movie, which stars Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, Heath Ledger, and Jason Isaacs.

Although fictional in nature, the film’s story is based on the reality of Revolutionary War times, a period during which our nation was coming into being. It tells the story of Benjamin Martin (portrayed by Gibson), a widowed farmer who is reluctantly drawn into the war.

Martin is a veteran of the French and Indian War. He has sworn off violence but is forced to take up arms once again when his son is murdered by Colonel Tavington (portrayed by Isaacs), who is a particularly cruel British officer.

Martin’s farm is burned down by the British, and he and his remaining children are forced to flee. He joins a militia group and begins to fight back. He instructs his men on how to use guerrilla tactics to defeat the British and soon becomes a legendary figure among the colonists.

Director Emmerich, who is of European descent, understands the importance of America’s birth. He summed up his attraction to the project on the film’s DVD, stating, “These were characters I could relate to, and they were engaged in a conflict that had a significant outcome, the creation of the first modern democratic government.”

“The Patriot” is a tale of loyalty, sacrifice, and the unquenchable thirst to live free.

These are the intangibles that we honor when we erect statues of historical figures who left an indelible mark to the benefit of all of their progeny.

And that progeny includes you and me.

An Election Worth Fighting For

riot-1200-1024x576-1

It was a troubled time in history.

New York City was a mess. The streets of the Big Apple were plagued with crime, and folks felt anxious and downhearted.

Then along came Rudy Giuliani. He had made a run for mayor in 1989, but it wasn’t his time.

After having lost that election round, he stepped up a few short years later for a 1993 electoral re-match with then-NYC Mayor David Dinkins.

Law and order was the big issue on voters’ minds. This time Rudy would take the trophy. He became New York City’s official mayor and went on to make the city safe again.

New Yorkers would thank him with a second term, which would be monumental in its import and in its place in history as on one fateful day in September 2001, Rudy would rise to become “America’s Mayor.”

Fast forward to the Summer of 2020.

We sit in shock as in real time we watch a string of crimes play out on our television screens, tablets, and cell phones.

We gaze in horror as we witness the destruction of our shops, restaurants, and even our police stations.

Our hearts break as we see neighbors being beaten with fists, bricks, clubs, and skateboards.

We witness smashing, looting, burning, and unvarnished hatred unlike anything we have ever experienced before.

And we weep to the depths of our souls.

We learn a whole lot in the weeks to come, and the knowledge arrives in the form of revelations.

We hear about current Democrat state governors, including those in New York, California, Michigan, and Washington, and sitting Democrat city mayors in New York City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle, among others, who allow and even encourage outright lawlessness.

We see elected Democrat leaders violate their oaths to protect lives and property and give carte blanche to terrorists.

We hear Democrat city mayors order police officers to stand down as cities are overtaken, livelihoods are demolished, and dreams of everyday folks go up in flames.

We recoil from the blows of vandals, who strike our own bodies as they deface cherished monuments and topple statues of heroes past.

We listen to Democrat state governors and Democrat city mayors order law enforcement to refrain from exercising their sworn duties.

We smell the stench of anarchy as we stare at city blocks, which are cordoned off in a neighborhood that many used to call work or home, the new area being proclaimed a “sovereign nation.”

We cry alongside a father, who is forced to bury his own son at a time that the Seattle Democrat mayor dubbed a “summer of love.”

We taste the bitter fear on our tongues—fear for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our neighbors—as Democrat officeholders de-fund our police departments.

We stop in our tracks for a moment to remember what happened just before the protests and riots.

We were, and still are, a nation in the grip of lockdown brought about by state and local officials who implemented harsh, and in many cases, illegal exercises of power.

We notice that the emergence of the coronavirus had handed governors, mayors, and myriad local officials the power of their wildest dreams, and the heightened profile that goes along with it.

Those who understand the allure of fame know how intoxicating it can be if gone unchecked. It is oftentimes checked by the virtue of humility, but we’re not seeing much of that in the current crop of Democrat gubernatorial and mayoral newfound “stars.”

Why does it matter?

Because power has been placed in the hands of individuals who appear to be overwhelmed by the high it provides and who likely find themselves craving it all the more.

Consequently, it is highly unlikely that they will ever want to hand that power back, in this case, back to the American people.

In 1993 New Yorkers were in a similar situation. The city’s high crime rate was making ordinary life anything but ordinary.

Here are some quotes that appeared in the New York Times in December of 1990, which divided NYC crime into two categories:

The first category had to do with “the large number of shootings of bystanders, whose victims were often children — crimes that frightened by their casualness and unpredictability.”

The second category had to do with “crime that seemed to follow a pattern…”

As the Times went on to explain, “The second sort led to a growing sense of chaos in the city as the criminals eluded capture. But the first kind gave many residents a more unsettling feeling: that anyone, at any time, could become a victim.”

After what our country has witnessed of late in the Democrat-run cities and states referenced above, these categories of crime may have a great deal of relevance to the upcoming elections.

In 1993 New Yorkers were not about to become victims, and this led to an unexpected, and very much welcomed, victory for Rudy.

We are about to find out in four months if Americans in 2020 are in the same New York state of mind.

May this be the election that proves the America that we know and love is so worth fighting for.