Remove Confederate statues, but preserve our founding fathers

Levy: Remove Confederate statues, but preserve our founding fathers

By: The Associated Press, Steve Levy July 13, 2020

It was five years ago, long before the most recent protests calling for the taking down of statues and plaques memorializing the lives and deeds of Confederate military leaders, that I took my first trip down to Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.

I enjoyed the charm that enveloped these beautiful cities, but something struck me as deeply disturbing as I was doing my leisurely tourist stroll. I came across numerous statues of military figures.

Upon reading further, it was clear that these were the leaders of the Confederate army. I tried to imagine what it would be like if I were an African-American parent walking with my 9-year-old and coming upon the statues for the first time. How would I explain to my youngster that the community in which I live was holding up to praise a man who fought to keep Black people in chains and who mounted an insurrection against the United States?

Basically, these men were traitors, and yet we were literally putting them on a pedestal.

I thought back then that those statues should be removed. This was a softball for President Trump. Had he acted early and came out in favor of removing the statues of Confederate leaders, he could have gained a great deal of admiration within the African-American community.

It also would’ve given him more standing to stop the radical efforts to go after statues of our founding fathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

A contingent of these protesters are so over the top that they’re even going after Ulysses S Grant, the general who defeated the Confederacy, and Abraham Lincoln, the president who waged the war to vanquish slavery.

There’s a small minority within our country that want to keep these Confederate statues. There’s a small minority on the other side who want to destroy the legacy of our founding fathers. The vast majority of America in the middle believes we should take a balanced approach in cutting ties to the Confederacy, while also appreciating the amazing impact that our founding fathers had not only on America, but on all humanity.

Most importantly, we believe that any decisions have to be made via the legislative process and not by the loudest, most aggressive voices who are accountable to no one.

Let’s stop having the mob control our policy and allow the common sense middle to prevail.