Over the past month we have experienced something most of us have never seen in our country, the destruction of historic statues, changing names of historical places.... all in the name of stamping out what a very vocal group has decided should be changed to what they want.
I love history and have read much about what we have seen just in the past 100 years (not looking any further back which is even worse in many cases) so would like to bring up a few dates:
- In May 1933 Hitler and his cronies held massive book burnings all over Germany, his stooges and others joined in the burning of historical masterpieces and scientific journals. Why? Because they were written by Jews.
- In Germany and every country the Nazis conquered historic statues, buildings, and even the railroad car the World War I armistice was signed in was destroyed.
- In 1949 George Orwell wrote a book entitled "1984" which contained some quotable words that seem to fit today, including: “Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power.”
- In 2000 a group of radicals in Afghanistan destroyed century old religious objects and historic sites because history did not suit their purpose. Those people later gave Americans a taste of hell on Sept. 11, 2001.
Attempting to obliterate history will not change it, nor correct the wrongs that have occurred. As Americans we need to remember our Constitution guarantees us the right to make changes using one of the greatest weapons ever invented....the ballot box. Burning, looting, and destroying property will not bring positive change, only change that will eventually destroy our great country and all it stands for.
Maybe it’s time for all of us to stand up and say "America Matters."
