Lincoln Statue Burned In Chicago- Will Alabama's History Be Cleansed As Well?

Courtesy of Alderman Raymond Lopez (Facebook)

(News Analysis)

Anarchists burned a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Chicago night-before-last—a monument to the man responsible for ending slavery in the United States. The memorial honoring “Honest Abe” was wrapped in tar paper and set on fire.

Despite some headlines, no one knows who defaced Lincoln’s bust, whether it was neo-Nazi white supremistis, Antifa leftists or local vandals. The important takeaway is that the rule of law in America is under assault. Moreover, while the Nazi groups on one side and the Antifa groups on the other seem so intent on destroying one another, as we reported earlier this week, their agenda is essentially the same—strip America of her history and create a new society ruled by tyranny.

This is not unprecedented. Nazi Germany was incredibly effective at whitewashing history. They burned books, destroyed buildings, and removed or killed anyone who didn’t align with the despotic rule they sought to propagate. In this respect, Charlottesville was a flash-point of a far deeper strategic movement. As a result, community leaders across the country, just like William Bell in Birmingham, can’t seem to move fast enough to fall in line to cleanse America of its history. In so doing, they’re essentially doing the same thing that Nazi Germany did—creating a new era that’s “cleansed” of everything with which they disagree. Rather than keep all of these statues as a reminder of our turbulent and broken past, they would rather wipe it from the minds of history.

One irony in all of this is that the extreme left loves to tout their First Amendment Free Speech rights, presumably missing the hypocrisy that a statue is a form of speech. They’ll be the first ones to cry foul if you try to restrict their “free speech” and “safe” zones on college campuses. However, their support of such an amendment lasts only to the extent that the person’s views completely align with their own. Again, the great hypocrisy that flies into the face of everything American is that they want a society in which nothing they find offensive can be uttered, while nothing they find disagreeable is ever safe. The fact is, that while we are sovereign people, we are also broken people. Some of us have opinions that are frankly just wrong, such as the idea that one race is better than the other. However, restricting the ability for someone to express their opinion, no matter how wrong it may be, is simply un-American. In fact, it’s exactly what the Nazis did.

The Civil War is a reminder of what happens when a nation, communities, and families are pitted against each other. It’s also a reminder of what can happen when inherently broken human beings seek power over others to whom God has given unalienable rights. I pray that Americans learn to accept our past and move on. There is no need to sterilize history. Instead of tearing down statues, let’s work to construct our generation’s history in a way that embraces the rule of law and mutual respect for our fellow man, two foundations on which all civil societies prosper.