The movement to destroy our past and to eliminate anyone for any mistake made in the past is the most anti-human, anti-progressive attitude imaginable.
Pulling down statues not just of historical figures like Confederate generals, but destroying statues of Lincoln and Jefferson betrays a movement that is so arrogant and uneducated, they have no interest in learning from the past. They want only to judge the past by their own standards of today. They are declaring that they know better than anyone in the past. They have no humility to acknowledge that we stand on the shoulders of those who’ve gone before us, and we should be thankful that our lives today are based on the successes of the past, not its failures.
Not only is the United States infected with this cancer of destruction, but the U.K. equally shows symptoms of distress. A British University is proposing to stop teaching Chaucer and all his medieval contemporaries before 1500 to English literature students. Why, to replace it with modules on race and sexuality in a “decolonized” curriculum. Thank God that Shakespeare was after 1500.
And on a more trivial note, the University of York has banned the image of three monkeys with the proverbial motto of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Why? They are judged to be an oppressive racial stereotype.
In fair play to the British, Biden got rid of the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office. And yes, he has the right to redecorate as he sees fit. No problem. Churchill is replaced with a bust of Cesar Chavez. Also, no problem. He’s an American icon in the Civil Rights Movement. As a US History teacher, I always loved teaching the unit on Chavez. He truly spoke truth to power in the non-violent tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
But if the “woke” Left is consistent with its purge of mistaken personalities, then Cesar Chavez should also be shamed and banned for his vehement opposition to illegal Mexican immigration which he said harmed the jobs and livelihoods of Mexican-Americans working in the US already. In fact Chavez used the pejorative term of “wetbacks” to describe the unwanted and illegal Mexicans. I don’t believe Chavez should be crucified for this, not for one minute, but if consistent, the “woke” Left should insist that Biden remove that disgraceful bust from his office. Why? It’s hypocritical for a Biden Administration that seeks to grant amnesty to over 11 million illegals to also pay homage to Chavez who believed they were a blight and hindrance to American citizens gaining the economic justice they deserved. If you are a woke judge and executioner of history, be consistent.
The real question is: how did we get here? How did destroying our past become so accepted and trendy today. If you still believe in learning from history, then look back at the Chinese Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong in the later ‘60s through 70’s that purged elements of traditional Chinese society as well as millions of people. Look at the Soviet Union and former Eastern Bloc countries behind the Iron Curtain.
If that history is too unsavory, then read the fiction of George Orwell’s “1984.” It will not make you feel any better. In fact, it will scare you to death because you will recognize that “doublethink” is alive and well - today!
Cancel the Past and you cancel your Future as well, at least for free speaking individuals.
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