Admittedly I am a very simple minded individual. However, I like to think of myself as one who tries to understand, as best I can, issues that confront us in our contemporary setting. With that in mind, I would like to think out loud for a few minutes, wrestling with some of those pertinent issues of our day.

I am a bit confused as to why some things have all of a sudden become reprehensible to a large segment of our society. What has prompted the outcry of so many against monuments depicting past historical events and individuals. The individuals and events are reminders of our past, our heritage, our progress as a nation, our track record from the days of our founding fathers to the present day. It is our history. It is a progressive record of who we have become.

Please reread that last sentence: it is a progressive record of who we have become. We could create an elaborate timeline, recording on that line every major event in the life of our nation. At any given point on that timeline, it would only represent who the people of this nation were at that precise moment. For example, if we chose the random date, July 21, 1834, then it would only represent the people alive at that time. Everything prior to July 21, 1834 would be history. And, everything prior to that time would have been part of the process of making the nation what it was on that date.

Now, let’s come forward to July 21, 2020. We have monuments, statues, historical markers, buildings, hospitals, schools, universities, and so many other things named after individuals and groups who have made an indelible impression on the progressive development of this nation. Again, let’s think about that timeline. We are now at a very specific moment in our history. That timeline represents who we are right now, but it also takes into account everything on that timeline that has brought us to this point. Any prior point on the timeline represents a specific point in our history, but it does not represent today’s point.

Those moments, each of them, are part of us, and we are part of them. So, my question is, what has made them all of a sudden become so deplorable, so reprehensible, so disgusting, so distasteful, that we must rid ourselves of every vestige of our past. It is, after all, our PAST, not our present. It helps me greatly as an individual living in the year 2020 to have an understanding of the progressive development of our nation. I need to know about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. I need to know the beliefs of Republicans, and Democrats, and Independents, and Libertarians, so that I might make an educated choice in the ballot box on election day. I need to know what the individual politicians believe, and what they plan to do if elected, before I can in good conscience cast a vote.

Knowing our past helps us plan for our future. Learning from our past helps us make plans for a better future. Instead of destroying reminders of our past, let’s allow them to help us see how far we have come, and teach us how far we must go, to continue making the vision of our founding fathers a reality. And, to live true to our pledge: One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.