It's more important to be human

To The Eagle:

I guess I'm confused about the issue surrounding removal of statues, flags, and everything removable from the public eye, because some are offended. Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't we been in the longest conflict in our history with no end in sight? This is against people that, among their other cultural issues that our society finds offensive, were destroying their historical artifacts because they were offensive to some. I just finished Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel titled, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which ignited a firestorm regarding slavery. When President Lincoln met her, reportedly he said, "So, you're the little lady that started the Civil War." People that read even a little history may have heard of it. For those unfamiliar with it, there was a brutal war that lasted about four years, back in the 1860's. Some battles would kill over 30,000 men in one day. Look it up.

Now here is where I'm conflicted, so bear with me. It occurs to me that by removing the statues, etc., it makes that type of situation more easily repeated. Many have family members of every color of God's own pallet, including Rainbow. For this reason alone I protest the removal of these statues as treacherous for our future. A child at one time could point at a statue of a famous General from America's Civil War, and ask who was that, Daddy? An educated, another tricky word, daddy, would be able to explain who he was,and why he was honored, about the reasons for the war, enslaving other races, etc. This doesn't mean it's cool to fly the Confederate flag or drive all over flying a loser's flag. I forgot to tell you that one side won and slavery was, here's the tricky part, officially ended. It is, after all, the law of the land.

I know I'm just preaching to a choir comprised of interesting people, some I know and admire their thoughts, some I just know and the others, well, never mind. Bottom line, it is more important to be a human than a Republican, Democrat, or fill in the blank, and we're all here. It is up to us to stop the kind of thing that happened in Charlottesville.

James Roberts

Elochoman Valley