Robert E. Lee, Revolution, and the Question of Historical Memory

Two weeks ago New Orleans removed its Robert E. Lee Monument, one of four that the city decided to take down. As well, Charlottesville, Virginia, currently finds itself in the midst of a rancorous debate over its Lee statue. All over the South and the nation moves are afoot to take down monuments, remove flags, hide any symbols that in any way honor or remind the present generation favorably of the Confederacy and the “lost cause.”

There has been much written about what the removals mean. How should we see these attempts to radically erase, uproot and alter portions of our history?

It goes without saying that each generation interprets the past—its past—to enhance, justify and confirm its view of itself. Certainly, the politically correct, cultural Marxist Left, which spearheads the effort to “cleanse” our society of Confederate symbolism, has erected its own set of symbols, totems, and myths to legitimize its present activities and its extreme revolutionary zeal. Thus, in the place of Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson, we witness the rising cults of Nat Turner, Harriet Jacobs, “the Secret Six” abolitionists, and the rehabilitation and virtual canonization of the bloodthirsty fanatic, John “Pottawatomie” Brown.  In the America of 2017 we have a whole new set of martyrs and saints, whose message is carefully massaged and congealed, and then presented as models for us and for our children. And there can be no dissent from this new imposed vision.