Back in the Saddle – More on the Meaning of Statues

 Unfortunately, The Sensible Conservative fell off his horse several weeks ago and has spent the last few weeks recuperating.  As this posting shows, I’m back in the saddle.

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In the interim, I note that the controversy over the presence of statues of prominent Americans who possessed flaws (namely they owned and/or supported slavery at some point in their lives) continues. 

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice weighed in on the question by observing that erasing symbols of America’s past would be counter-productive because their removal would eliminate reminders of American History that should not be repeated. 

Although Ms. Rice has a point, she misses the greater significance of memorials which can sometimes be more than historical notes. 

The Washington Monument  and the Jefferson Memorial are more than merely outdoor displays of museum items having no current significance. 

In fact, such physical reminders should reflect our present day respect for past deeds and current values  such as the establishment of this exceptional country (arguably without George Washington as our military leader and first president, the United States , itself would never have come into being) and Thomas Jefferson’s memory today still speaks of American values like freedom and the rights of man. 

By viewing these memorials in such a fashion, one is focusing on the reasons for their presence:  the positive aspects that they represent.  Statuary is not meant to glorify the subjects as perfect human beings.

If perfection were the litmus test that each memorial must satisfy, it goes without saying, none would exist. 

In that respect, it’s ridiculous to suggest that the visual recognitions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant etc. were put up in honor of their deficiencies, whatever they might have been.  Such memorials, if you will, were constructed despite those deficiencies, not because of them. 

To think otherwise is to suggest, for instance, that the national holiday for Martin Luther King and the innumerable displays  of recognition are to honor  him for his many instances of adulterous behavior instead of his substantial contributions to the non-violent Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.  (Likewise, the same might be said about John F. Kennedy, another notorious philanderer.)

Simply put, the Washington Monument honors the Father of our country, not the Mt. Vernon slave owner.