If You Want To Go: What If There Were No Monuments?

Abstract

If You Want To Go ent from what they mean to another— for example, a fi ft hgeneration African American whose ancestors toiled under the bonds of nineteenthcentury slavery. My interest is from a purely military and historical perspective. Someone else’s is likely to be emotional or philosophical. I was asked, “You go to Gettysburg at lot. What would you think if they start taking down the monuments on the battlefi eld? Would that make sense?” And, would it actually change anything in terms of current attitudes towards history and the social injustices of this day? Would it change attitudes that some still trace to the Civil War and the twisted attempts of reconstruction that many claim are still apparent? My answer is this. Taking down the monuments, the plaques, and the roadside signs cannot, and will not, change history or any pain that it has spawned. Th e statue of Robert E. Lee atop the Virginia monument on Confederate Avenue should be no diff erent a reminder to those who are currently off ended than the Egyptian pyramids are If You Want To Go What If Th ere Were No Monuments?