Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, October 20, 2017

If we keep revising history, we'll soon have none left

Mr. O'Toole (Letters, Oct. 17) makes a good point. My memories of the statues which honor Civil War soldiers center around those in the county seat courtyards of rural districts in both North and South. They primarily portray the common soldier, Yank or Reb, and can generally be told apart only by the letters on their belt buckles.

I have not spent enough time in cities to pay much attention to the statues of the leaders of either side. But if we allow only the statues of "nice guys" to remain, who would get the job of deciding who is naughty or nice? This classification would, of course, change with each generation or current political fad.

Lee and Jackson are admired by some and disdained by some. Lincoln is revered by most. Sherman, admired by most in the North, will get few votes from anyone living near Atlanta. Jefferson and Washington are generally admired, but they actually owned slaves, while other Southerners, currently reviled, never did.

I recall an old tale of a man with two wives, one young and one old. The younger would pluck all the gray hairs from his head so he would appear younger. The elder did the same with his black hairs to make him appear older. He eventually became bald. Shall we become 'bald' of historical statues?

If we keep revising history to enhance certain points of view, we may soon have no factual history. A large part of our history can be seen in the current attitudes of our population, and much of this is reflected in how who feels about what. Erase the physical evidence of this, cleanse history books of controversy, and you lose much depth of understanding of who we are and how we got that way.
I am not permitted, by law or by conscience, to eliminate everything that offends me; I see no reason to allow others to do so.

— Don Neal
Anchorage

The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.

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