Once you set out to expunge American history of anything you find offensive I wonder what will be left? Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, and Madison all owned slaves as did Andrew Jackson. Wilson was a racist. Franklin Roosevelt was a racist. Jack Kennedy’s father was at the least a Nazi appeaser and at the worst a sympathizer. He was certainly anti-Semitic.
Lyndon Johnson was a racist. Nixon was a racist. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton both wrote in praise of the Daughters of the Confederacy and are proud Southerners. Barack Obama had slaveowners on both sides of his family.
The United States is a land of contradictions. It is a land of freedom. It is a land of slavery. It is a land of opportunity. It is a plutocracy in which whites have advantages.
The contradictions are not flyspecks, mere unpleasant details in a history otherwise free of blemish. They’re an intrinsic part of the country.
I have no idea why people cling to a country they find intolerable.
ISIS removed or defaced statues they found offensive. The Taliban removed or defaced statues they found offensive. The Medieval Church removed or defaced statues they found offensive. The ancient Egyptians removed or defaced statues they found offensive.
Removing or defaced statues one finds uncomfortable is not the actions of a reasoning being. Banning speech one finds uncomfortable is not the actions of a reasoning being. Outlawing protests one finds uncomfortable is not the actions of a reasoning being.
But, we are witnessing an additional phenomenon. These statues are not just a part of history. These statues have become idols worshiped by certain sects, and in the US, the First Amendment of the constitution includes the Establishment Clause. These idols cannot be reconciled with the Constitution.
The historical value of these statues has been diminished because they support an idolatry that would otherwise be required to sustain itself without any governmental resources. The historical or artistic value can be retained by removing the statues to a museum, and the idolaters can worship there.
The difference between the US and the previous examples is that one can still publically profess another belief without interference by the ruler(s). One is guaranteed the freedom to hate. One is guaranteed the freedom to promote hate. One is guaranteed the freedom to protest non-hate. But, one is not guaranteed the erection of idols to worship one’s hatred.