In the Left's ongoing crusade to exterminate the heritage of the United States, the statue of Teddy Roosevelt that has greeted visitors to Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History has been removed. As all evil things, it was done in the cover of darkness. Just as the statue of Christopher Columbus was removed in our neck of the woods in the wee hours of the night.
That is symbolic of the Left's iconoclasm against the West. That which is evil is done in darkness, for darkness hates the light. Of course on the other hand, expect crickets and chirps to be heard from Republicans about this, if not conservatives in general. I'm stunned at how man "conservatives" I've run into over the last couple years who will at least excuse if not defend these actions.
Oh Dave, it's private property - if that's the case. Or Dave, they're just relocating the statue. Or Dave, we have to admit and come to grips with the fact that America was racist. Or Dave, they're usually wrong, but in this case Roosevelt was a naked imperialist who exploited and oppressed people to further American imperialism. And on and on. I've seen them all on decidedly conservative sites by those who otherwise rail against the Left.
I often blame the Left wallowing in its cover of darkness. And yet, I don't know why it bothers hiding what it is doing. I have a feeling most who walk under the banner of conservative wouldn't do any different if the statue was removed at high noon on a sunny day.
The headline is "Statue of Great Man Rescued from Cesspool". The oceans may be rising, but the sewage is rising faster. At least Roosevelt's statue was not destroyed.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I don't think many were, though the Columbus statue here in the Buckeye State was dismantled. The local GOP said they were going to purchase it and place it somewhere, but that hasn't happened yet.
DeleteJust to clarify, the Roosevelt statue is headed for North Dakota, where the man himself would no doubt feel more comfortable if he were alive today. It is not being hidden in some basement in the hopes that sometime in the distant future NYC will want it again.
DeleteHe is, but that's not why he's being removed. If this was because the Teddy R Society said they think he'd prefer to have the statue there, I'd be a little OK with it, though its removal would be a shame for NY. But that's not why this is happening, at least per the stories I've seen. That's the problem.
DeleteAs for those statues and monuments that are being destroyed, well, I'm afraid I have to remind you of a piece of "art" which was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and that profaned a crucifix. Perhaps the crucifix could have been cleaned and venerated, but I think the better answer would be to destroy it by fire, even though it was probably not blessed and therefore not quite a sacramental; removing it from its disgusting surroundings is not enough. So it is with these statues.
ReplyDeleteI remember that. The odd thing? If we wanted to allow art like that, so be it. The problem was that it happened at a time when any religious imagery was being challenged and removed. The idea that you couldn't put up a cross, but you could piss on a cross and have it funded and displayed, appeared to be nakedly anti-Christian in nature. Same here. I prefer the statues to stand since in my days, tearing down statues was seen as a bad - the stuff of Stalin or the Taliban (I remember learning about how those rascally American Revolutionaries weren't always angels, one example being their destruction of the King George statues). I like principles to hang around awhile, not go on a 'here today, gone later today' basis.
DeleteLet's not oversimplify things too much. It is possible to approve of St. Boniface chopping down Donar's Oak while not approving of vandals decapitating statues of the Virgin Mary. We cannot forever pretend that they are the same.
DeleteThat said, we MUST be generous in our appraisals of other people (not exactly judgments, unless they involve punishments) and harsher than is comfortable in appraising ourselves. That is why we should have statues of men like Jefferson and men like MLK -- not because either is perfect, not because we should imitate them in every way, but because what good there was in them was noteworthy.
The German word for monument is Denkmal: think-piece. That sums it up nicely. These should be reminders of what is good that should be emulated, what is bad that should be avoided, what is outstanding that should be understood, and what is common with all other people. They should gently and passively provoke thought.
That is what they do, UNLESS they are much more evil than society OR they are much better than society -- unless they are very unworthy of society or society is very unworthy of them. Let's not kid ourselves: there are no St. Bonifaces in these iconoclastic mobs, in or out of government office.
That's exactly right. I think we dropped the ball when we fell for the idea that to display a cross must demand we allow Satan to be displayed, too.
DeleteAs for the modern presentism that's all the rage, again correct. I remember when we were being told just the opposite. To find the best in others. Rommel? He was a German, but he opposed Hitler, Great Guy. Yamamoto? He planned the Pearl Harbor attack. But a respectable man and worthy of our admiration. Now? One might pass, but we live in an age where children are being taught to despise and hate anyone who doesn't live up to their perfection. I can't imagine anything worse to pass on to future generations.
"I have a feeling most who walk under the banner of conservative wouldn't do any different if the statue was removed at high noon on a sunny day."
ReplyDeleteBingo. The Conservative, Inc. grifters will always go along to get along. I remember when GOP leadership bragged about their talents in that direction: I once saw Sen. Everett Dirksen, when he was Senate Minority Leader, telling an interviewer "My principal principle is flexibility."
They still seem to think it is somehow virtuous to refuse taking a real stand on anything other than the wishlist of the Chamber of Commerce.
That makes me think of what I told Anon above. When the Columbus statue was dismantled and removed from display in Columbus, the local GOP boasted they would get hold of the statue and put it back up in an open display. Well, that hasn't happened yet. And I've not heard any talk about it since.
Delete