February 9, 2017

The Latest Chapter in the Left’s Campaign of Historical Purges

Charlottesville votes to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a public park.

In Charlottesville, Virginia, Mayor Mike Signer and his uber-leftist City Council voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Lee Park and to rename both Lee and Jackson Parks — the latter, of course, named for Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The measure also includes $1 million in funding to redesign the parks, including the eventual placing of a new monument intended to honor the slaves of the city’s past.

In what is the latest Stalinist-style purging of history across our nation, the action in Charlottesville constitutes a shocking degree of intellectual dishonesty and hubris. This city council’s actions reveal more than mere concern over the lack of honor given to those who suffered under the cruelty of slavery. There is a vindictiveness inherent in this decision. Why did they not seek a reasonable compromise and allow for the honoring of both war hero and slave? By any fair measure, Gen. Lee was an honorable man and great military leader — in fact Abraham Lincoln asked Lee to command the Union Army of the Potomac. But Lee declined, writing, “I have, therefore, resigned my commission in the army, and save in defense of my native state … I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.” He entered the war on the side of the Confederacy out of loyalty defend the rights of the state of Virginia, not out of some imagined “evil” desire to maintain slavery. To suggest otherwise is intellectually dishonest.

Almost as egregious is the council’s decision to recognize March 3 as “Liberation and Freedom Day,” that date in 1865 when Charlottesville was occupied by invading Union forces. After all, Virginians who engaged in the War Between the States were fighting first and foremost for the same principles of Liberty as an earlier generation of Virginians — those who made the intellectual arguments for and then fought in the Revolutionary War — among them, Charlottesville native and author of our Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Irrespective of our own modern-day judgment on the legitimacy of their cause, it does great violence to the historical record to so limit their rationale as being motivated solely or even primarily by a desire to preserve the institution of slavery. We betray the historical record if we erase from it the narrative and perspective of those who experienced it. Indeed, it is the fool who rejects the lessons of the past in favor of his own modern prejudices.

So, while Robert E. Lee was not a slave owner, Charlottesville most famous native, Thomas Jefferson, was. Is it time for the city to tear down monuments to Jefferson — starting with his beloved University of Virginia?

Update, February 17: Meanwhile, Tennessee will become the first state to guarantee funding to preserve War Between the States battle sites.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.