Why the Confederate Statues Have to Come Down

We need to remove all the Confederate statues from public places in the United States. A statue of a person in a public place in our culture is there to honor that person. It is not there just to commemorate history. The people depicted in these statues, people like Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Pierre Beauregard, Jeb Stuart and Nathan Forrest were enemies of the United States. What is more, they were traitors. Every one of them took an oath as an officer in the United States Army or as a federal elected official to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States. Every one of them then went on to repudiate and break that oath by waging war against the United States of America. In this war some 620,000 young men were killed. That is more than have fallen in all the other wars in this nation's history combined.

Some say to remove the statues from public parks and squares is an attempt to erase history. Not at all. The statues can go to Civil War and American History museums. The photographs of them can and should appear in textbooks. But we do not commemorate history in this country by erecting statues of our enemies. If so, where are the statues of King George III or General Cornwallis? Where are the public statues of Kaiser Wilhelm, or of Mussolini, Tojo and Hitler, or of Osama bin Laden?

No, we do not bestow honor in this country upon enemies who have sought to harm and destroy it, who have killed our citizens and attempted to conquer our land and destroy our republic. The very idea is an affront to the sacrifice of those who have risked their lives and too often made the ultimate sacrifice to defend it. It is time to drop this pretense. The communities that are removing these statues are doing the right thing. The Confederate statues have to go. 

Moon Landing: T-Plus 45 Years

Forty-five years ago today I sat in my living room with my family and witnessed an incredible event take place on live television.  Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on another world by climbing down the ladder of the Lunar Excursion Module and placing their boots on the dusty surface of the moon.  Goosebumps rose on my fourteen-year-old arm as I realized I was seeing something that people had dreamed of for thousands of years.

 

The vision and vow of our late beloved President Kennedy, "to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of this decade" was being fulfilled.  It was a moment of wonder and also of pride.  America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration had done this.  We beat the Russians to the moon, and in those frightening Cold War days that seemed of the greatest importance.  Our scientists, manufacturers, workers and pilots had proved they were the best.

Today, the meaning is a bit different.  Over 300,000 Americans had a hand in this astounding feat.  It called forth cooperation and teamwork on a monumental scale.  It showed we were still pioneers at heart, and ready to contribute and work together to accomplish great things, seemingly impossible things.  We were a confident and optimistic people, heedless of any limitations.  Oh, to be that people again!       

The Day the President Died

Fifty years ago today, also on a Friday, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.  For people around my age, it was our Pearl Harbor, our nine eleven.  I was in school that day at Arbolita Elementary in Mr. Membrez's room.  The principal, Mr. Van Pelt, came into our fourth grade class and told us the news. Some cried; the rest of us sat in stunned silence. That weekend our family watched everything on TV. Particularly etched in my memory are John John's salute, Jackie kissing the casket in the Capitol rotunda, and the riderless horse in the funeral procession. We saw Oswald get shot on live TV. It was a total national nightmare.  We've never really recovered what was lost.  I still sometimes choke up when discussing that day in my History classes.