Manatee monument

Manatee County now finds itself in the politically correct maelstrom of Confederate monuments. 

Those who can’t accept our nation’s history want the 1924 Daughters of the Confederacy memorial at the Manatee County Courthouse in downtown Bradenton removed.

Those opposed to the memorial say it stands as a symbol of and conveys the idea that Manatee County citizens embrace racism and oppression.

That is not true, of course — that Manatee citizens as a whole embrace those dark practices. And whether the monument stands as a symbol of racism and oppression is in the mind of the individual.

On the other side, many people believe you cannot, nor should you, rewrite or ignore history. That monument, for them, stands as a reminder of a time we should not forget. It has lessons every generation should be taught.

For sure, there is no right or wrong in this debate. You can believe what you want to believe. But the Manatee courthouse monument, as are all Confederate monuments, is becoming embroiled in the emotions of political correctness. And it’s a debate that is likely to spiral into an ugly cultural war. 

Where does it stop? Should the Washington and Jefferson memorials in Washington, D.C., be razed because those two founders owned slaves?

This much we know to be wrong: No one has the right to deface, damage or destroy such monuments or statues as they did this week in Durham, N.C. They are vandals who should be punished. 

If this issue is fomenting such intense and persistent community debates, local jurisdictions should take it to the citizens. Let the people decide. Put a question — be it a charter amendment or straw vote — on the county ballot. Conduct a public debate and let the opponents and proponents make their case.

But what is the moral, psychological and public harm of monuments throughout the South reminding us of an epic time in our nation’s history, reminding us of the lessons we don’t want to repeat?