Recently there has been some heated discussion about Confederate monuments. Some wish to have them removed as they glorify slaveholders and their defenders. Others cherish them as monuments to their ancestors and their bravery in battle. And the costs are higher than you would think.
Here’s an alternative. Let’s keep the statues and replace the wording.
Here are suggestions for Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee
Jefferson Davis 1808-1889
President of the Confederate States of America 1861-1865, a man devoted his life to racism and slavery, cleverly disguising it as State’s Rights. He promoted a war in which at least 650,000 of his countrymen needlessly died. He was an inept leader during the Civil War and spent the rest of his life defending his actions, never accepting criticism or rejecting racism.
Robert Edward Lee 1807-1870
Commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia 1862-1865, a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and considered the best military mind of his generation. He chose to betray his country, committing treason by giving aid and comfort to its enemies. In any other place, he would have been executed, but the United States granted him amnesty. So much for “Northern Aggression.”
We welcome suggestions for inscriptions on monuments honoring other champions of liberty from the CSA.