Leave our historical statues alone!
Over the past year we have watched the removal and vandalism of statues and sculptures mostly as a result of civil unrest after the death of George Floyd.
Historically, and around the world, the removal or toppling of statues was done as a result of societal changes in political or theoretical ideologies. Where do we draw the line with our historical treasures? Our public libraries are full of centuries old books and writings that are racist, sexist, and homophobic. Should we burn them?
The mistake we are making for future generations by removing statues is they will never really know why we recognized these people in the first place and why now did we as a society determine what they got wrong. It’s worth the time and money to simply erect a placard next to the statue to explain the fallibility of their actions as a teachable moment for future generations.
Paul R. Nelson, Salt Lake City
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