When Will They Blow Up Mount Rushmore?
The Taliban and Islamic state blow up ancient statues. Cambodia’s communist Khmer Rouge aimed to erase the past and start history anew with their “Year Zero.” As for our “devolutionaries,” when will they destroy Mt. Rushmore? Answer: when they have enough power.
There’s now a mad rush to tear down Confederate monuments and statues, with General Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, and even rank-and-file Confederate soldiers being victims. This occurs despite a healthy majority of Americans — including a plurality of blacks — believing the memorials should stand. Moreover, even more widely revered American figures are now in the cross hairs, with proposals to remove monuments to Founders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. After all, they share the Confederates’ unpardonable sin: having been slave owners.
The dirty little secret, however, is that this has nothing to do with slavery. It’s not just that statues of Joan of Arc and even the “Great Emancipator,” Abraham Lincoln, have also been vandalized. It’s not just that today’s not-so-great emancipators utter nary a word about the extant slavery in Africa and the Muslim world. It’s this: What of Islam’s “prophet,” Mohammed? He owned and traded slaves (not his greatest sins, either), yet we don’t hear calls to purge his name and teachings from the world. Nor will we. Some slavers are more equal than others.
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