End the rewrite of history
No one wants their deceased loved ones to be vilified, even if their actions in life were dishonorable, illegal or treasonous. The Daughters of the Confederacy didn’t, so they worked hard to promote their ancestors in positive terms, as patriots and heroes. They wanted them viewed with admiration, not shame. It worked for some, but this wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t history.
The process of trying to rewrite history is not something that should be preserved as history. The removal of the Confederate statues from Lexington and the Capitol is long overdue. They’re misrepresentations of history and an affront to families who lost true American patriots. They’re an offense to families who were treated as subhuman, sold into slavery by those who considered themselves superior and their slaves a financial asset.
It is history that the Confederacy was a rebel faction that failed, with great loss of human life, to continue a morally depraved practice. The statues are artwork placed in inappropriate places. Let’s uphold true history and no longer commemorate an untruth that fuels division of this country. Get them moved.
Diane Bryant
Frankfort
This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 6:13 PM with the headline "End the rewrite of history."