Let’s should look for things to unite us
Here are some points I believe we can all agree on. No. 1: Slavery is a horrible institution that, until 150 years ago, was the rule around the whole world, not just in America. We got rid of it, but sadly it still exists throughout the African continent, the Middle East, and parts of the Caribbean. No. 2: No race is supreme above any others. No. 3: History is a living thing that changes according to when it’s told and by whom. Rewrite the history of others as you would have yours rewritten — because eventually, someone will.
Revered civil rights icon Andrew Young summed up the frenzy about removing Confederate statues recently when he said “I think it’s too costly to refight the Civil War. We have paid too great a price in trying to bring people together. I am always interested in substance over symbols. If the truth be known, we’ve had as much agony, but also glory, under the United States flag. That flew over segregated America before and after the Civil War. It flew over slavery from the Canadian border on down.” I wholeheartedly agree with Young. We Americans need to hunt for things to bring us together, instead of hunting things to hurt each other and living in the past.
L.G. EDMONDS, DECATUR
Preserve statues in appropriate settings
Statues are three-dimensional history books. Unpopular books remain in libraries. But when currently undesirable statues are taken down, where do they go? The educational values of books and statues should be preserved somehow in appropriate settings.
The Memento Park in Budapest, Hungary, is an interesting example. This outdoor museum contains numerous statues of undesirable figures in Soviet history that were removed from their original city locations. It is a popular tourist attraction that brings in revenue for the city. A good idea for us?
LINDEN LONGINO, ATLANTA
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