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Confederate Monuments as Symbols of Hate
Are Confederate monuments our heritage or symbols of hate? It is an inquisitive that has attracted attention in the nation and has significantly developed a debate that require legislative action to make the right decision. It is right that the Confederate monuments are vital in maintaining the nation’s history but while at the right place and expressing the right context that will not lead to the deprivation of national cohesion. Most of these statues erected all over the country are no more than political rudiments that to a greater extent amplifies the white supremacy. People have been defending of the act of these confederate monuments being moved, removed as well as being altered into a way that brings out sound expression, which is not ethical regarding the sovereignty in the nation that depicts civil rights to all the citizens. In this discussion, the fact of Confederate monuments being symbols of hate in the state is elaborated into a profound extent with regards to these statues meaning and their origins as well as the influence they can depict in the society.
The fundamental purpose of preserving the Confederate monuments in the United States is not for the nation’s heritage and history but a vibrant reflection of the political itinerary. The vast number of statutes, more than a thousand along the streets of cities like North Carolina, Virginia, New Orleans, and Durham among other states in the United States did not just emerged but were meaningfully put in place (Leib, page 15). The setting up of these numerous statutes were as a result of enormous the efforts of white southerners and some of the northerners to show their political intents. Many were put in place during the era during the fight of the south to resist political rights of the African-American civilians who had actively participated in fighting for the national liberation after the end of slavery. The act of removing these confederate monuments from the nation’s landscape requires the same efforts put in setting them in place. It will be essential as a way of curbing the biased political affairs they depict as a measure of bringing sound change in the country.
Change is inevitable regarding modernization and advancement in the technology and way of living, and the public must accept it to enhance the nation’s growth and development. The Confederate monuments that depict racial undertakings are passed with time and should be removed to eradicate the mentality of racial supremacy in the country as a measure of boosting national unity. Only a few of these statues that underwent the legal process of authorization this making the history of Confederate monuments complicated than what many people think. In following up their history line, they many of these statues were funded, installed and dedicated by ethnic groups such as the United Daughters of Confederacy who claimed to be representatives of sentimentality in the local community (Ferris, page 3). The white supremacists opposed the action of blacks being granted public voting rights and their advocate statutes could not be erected. The southerners and other private supremacists used confederate monuments to take possession of the open space. On freezing these set apart standards in place, the state government has to pass laws of removing and moving these statutes from the publicity.
It is disgusting to find that even some of these confederate monuments were put in place by the use of public funds. For instance, the statutes of Jim Crow knockdown in Durham was significantly funded by the federal money after the Confederate Veterans persuasion with the Durham’s government to allocate some revenue from civilians’ taxation. It is ironical and repulsive to understand that no one considered the African-American views about their taxes being used to install back the Confederate monument as they were the victims of the Jim Crow’s laws that deprived the civil right of blacks to vote. Up to today, the fact remains that many Confederate monuments were put in place after the world war as symbols of liberty, but after the southerners gave the Jim Crow the leadership mandate. At this time, the northerners had given up in fighting for racial justice due to the empowerment by the southerners as well as the act of some people joining supremacist. It is important to acknowledge that the Southern memorials that have been legally installed and inherited are not changing as they do not depict this racial segregation notion. The supremacists did not consider the statutes of the nationalists who fought for equal civil rights in the nation and they significantly favored their inconsiderate monuments.
The first step to take in moving and removing confederate memorial landscape from the public space is first by understanding that today the South America community has made a pace of eradicating racism thus changing its line of history. While on the other side the statutes in the state are the products of white power and supremacy that was not at any stance considerate of other ethnic groups (Webster, page 30). Therefore, the removal of these confederate monuments is justified, and the future ones are designed in a way that is inclusive of all public demands through following of the legal procedure. It is right that there are monuments that are already installed and they significantly signifies national heritage, and it is alright for them remaining in place or being moved to more useful locations.
It has been heard that after the debate of removing, moving as well as altering these memorial landscapes that people are arguing that more monuments regarding the excluded communities such as the African-Americans be put in place to solve the issue. It makes sense, and this can be a practical solution to the complicated matter. However, it comes to impossibility regarding the limited resources in the society as well as the extra cost to be incurred in erected those many memorial structures. Indeed, these historical landscapes are supposed to be found in historical sites such as museums where people can visit know and them as a way of preserving the nation’s history. They should be dismantled entirely from the public space and the right measurements as well as pictures be taken to the museums where brief description should be given (Berman, page 11). With this, if anyone is interested in specific historical information, he or she can visit the museum’s access all the recommended information.
According to the above discussion, Confederate monuments should be removed, moved as well as altered efficiently and taken to the historical sites where anyone can easily access them. The act of erecting them in public landscape leads to spread of ethnicity differences, and this will significantly affect national cohesion. In curbing the roots of racism in the United States, the Confederate memorials must be removed from the public space to prevent its spread to the present and future generation. The monument landscape that will be put in place shortly must be approved under the legal process, and the public opinions are set in consideration to avoid the action of individuals using them as ways of accomplishing own political objectives.
References
Berman, Scott. “Plato, Socrates and the Removal of Confederate Monuments.” (2017).
Ferris, Marcie Cohen. “front porch.” Southern Cultures 23.3 (2017): 1-6.
Leib, Jonathan, and Gerald R. Webster. “On remembering John Winberry and the study of Confederate monuments on the Southern landscape.” southeastern geographer 55.1 (2015): 9-18.
Webster, Gerald R., and Jonathan I. Leib. “Religion, murder, and the Confederate battle flag in South Carolina.” Southeastern geographer 56.1 (2016): 29-37.
