Robert E. Lee led the Confederate Army in the Civil War and he surrendered in 1865. He lost a war trying to divide our nation. He lost a war that was started over the institution of slavery among other things.
While Lee had a distinguished military career, he fought against our great country. He withdrew his loyalty to the United States of America by fighting for the Confederacy. Historical documents show us that Lee was hesitant about joining the Confederacy. And history also tells us he resigned from the US Army on April 20, 1861 and joined an army created to destroy the Union three days later.
After the Confederates lost the Civil War, Lee half heartedly supported reconstruction efforts. It is true that Lee wanted to educate black people, but he also wanted to deport the black people in Virginia. He was adamantly opposed to allowing freed slaves the right to vote, which is a fundamental American right. He might have supported some reconstruction efforts, but he didn't want men of color to become integrated into American society.
Things commemorating Lee have been around for years. Why does it matter now? I'm not sure why Lee was ever commemorated when he was a traitor to our great nation. But, Lee's statue and the Confederate flag matter today because of the resurgence of White Supremacy. These symbols have given White Supremacists a cause to rally behind. White Supremacists are able to spew their vile garbage by hiding behind the guise of protecting US history.
After the Civil War, individuals who flew the Confederate flag did so as a way to signal their unwavering belief of supremacy. It has no place in America. Think about how strange it would be if British loyalists still flew the British flag, or if British loyalists erected King George lll statues after we became an independent nation. To do so would signal an unpatriotic disagreement with who America is as a nation.
It is not a valid argument to claim we are erasing history by getting rid of Confederate monuments. Every American knows that America was a British colony despite the statues of King George lll being torn down. The Civil War is an important American war which Americans will never forget. Brothers, friends, and neighbors fought against each other, willing to kill loved ones because hate trumped love. Our country was filled with hate. We don't need reminders of the hate. In the same way that Germany doesn't need monuments of Hitler or swastikas to remember a hateful moment in history.
It is also not a valid argument to claim that the trend of removing statues leads us down a slippery slope that would erase American history. Sure, numerous men who are fundamentally important to American history owned slaves such as Washington and Jefferson. But Washington and Jefferson did not try to perpetuate slavery as an institution like Lee did. Washington and Jefferson aren’t revered because they owned slaves, they’re honored because of all they did for the country despite owning slaves.
Let me be very clear, Lee was not a great American soldier. There are thousands of amazing selfless military leaders who have sacrificed their lives for our country that would be much more meaningful to have displayed around our country. There are thousands of soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect me and you. There are thousands who have risked it all to give us our freedom; and to those men and women, I'm eternally grateful. Lee does not measure to the high bar our soldiers have set. He would not protect the wonderful melting pot of America. I hope Lee serves as a reminder to those unpatriotic people filled with hate, that America is great and the Union can and will overcome hate.