Americans watched in horror as mobs of anarchists seized the streets of our major cities, breaking windows, setting fires, and looting stores. It didn’t take long before violence erupted. The anarchists began to brazenly attack law enforcement officers, innocent bystanders, and even each other. To rub salt in the wound, they even began pulling down statues that had stood for decades or even more than a century.
The real target of the violent Leftist statue-destroyers is not the Mount Rushmore faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt. In reality, their goal is to discredit America itself by smearing those who gave us the freedom and prosperity we enjoy today. Some weak Republicans have sought compromise with the radical anarchists by evicting Confederate statues from public spaces.
But what about Arlington National Cemetery, where America’s honored dead are buried? Arlington sits on the 1,100-acre estate once owned by the Virginian Robert E. Lee and his wife, who inherited the property from George Washington’s adopted grandson, George Washington Custis. Some 400,000 American heroes rest in peace there under the silent watch of the now-empty Custis-Lee Mansion. Will Arlington be the next target of the vandals?
The ongoing attacks on statues have little to do with the Confederacy. We know this is true because the same vandals who want to tear down statues of Stonewall Jackson also want to tear down statues of President Lincoln. The vandals are just as resentful of the most notable men in American history.
We have to acknowledge what’s at stake here. Statues of historical figures are a physical manifestation of the deeply rooted reverence Americans have always held for our history. When rioting leftists tear down these statues, they are expressing a hatred for history itself. They want to destroy everything from the past and rebuild it in their own image. Statues may remind us of our history, but they cannot defend our history. It’s up to patriotic Americans like you and me to defend the foundation of our national values. Will you do your part?
