This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Ian Ferdock. Find him on Instagram at @ianferdock. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
America is at war with its history. Statues have become battlegrounds, and cancel culture is leading the charge. At times cancel culture can be an appropriate response. Accountability and transparency are vitally important in creating a more progressive society. When evaluating the actions of individuals that are alive, or even recently deceased, cancel culture is a logical reaction. But what about arguments to revisit the past? There have been contentious conversations in the US about reevaluating American political history. A central component of this discourse has been efforts to remove the statues of some of our less wholesome historical figures. So, should statues be removed? Or does history require a more nuanced examination that avoids cancel culture? Ultimately, some statues should be removed; however, it may be in our best interest to let some remain, even if they honor complicated figures.
Cancel Culture
Before we jump into the debate over statues, let’s start with a broader overview of cancel culture. It has become a tool for both accountability and ideological warfare. Sometimes, it forces us to confront uncomfortable truths; but in other moments, it transforms into an extremist conversation, removing any room for nuance.
The underlying intent of cancel culture is commendable. Instead of being idle and allowing poor behavior to go unchecked, striving for accountability is an admirable path. There are plenty of cases where someone’s behavior is genuinely troubling and it’s not worth allowing them to have a public platform. Any culture or society needs to confront problematic behaviors. How else can we grow?
However, as cancel culture has become increasingly politically charged, it has gotten more complex in its application. On one side of the political spectrum, if you say or do anything that the majority of online voices disagree with, that’s it you’re done. There is no room for error. Conversely, on the opposite side, as long as you do agree with the core party message no crime pushes the boundaries too far. This has allowed the ideas surrounding cancel culture to become toxic and reflect growing extremism. The world isn’t always so black and white. It’s vital to remember that human beings are fallible. We all make mistakes and sometimes cancel culture goes too far. It’s more effective to approach issues with an open mind while allowing individuals the opportunity to change.
Canceling Historical Figures
Cancel culture is at its best when applying modern ethics to modern individuals. When you try to impose modern ethics on those who lived in the past, it’s not a particularly beneficial way of understanding history. The only way to learn from the past is to confront it, but cancel culture isn’t the answer either. Examining how historical figures should be viewed is complex. History needs to be evaluated in the context in which it occurred. It’s fine to compare historical and modern contexts, but you shouldn’t impose one context on the other.
However, we do need to reevaluate our history and learn from the shortcomings of those who came before us. This is especially relevant when considering the forces of political ideologies and historical revisionism. I think we can all agree that one of the most shameful aspects of American history is the institution of slavery. It’s morally reprehensible today and was in the past. As straightforward as that sounds, we do have to be careful and interpret the history around it intricately. Largely because slavery spans two centuries of the nation’s history, and much of the historical analysis over successive generations has been muddled by historical revisionism. When we debate statue removals, we must keep all of this in mind.
Context Matters
When determining if cancel culture should be applied to historical figures and lead to statue removals, it’s comparable to conversations about whether art should be separated from the artist. For example, some people took actions that were controversial to their contemporaries, but historical revisionism, which is usually entrenched in prejudices, can promote a misleading view of a past figure that glorifies their actions or beliefs.
In the United States, this is a prominent way Confederates are viewed. When the Confederacy seceded from the Union, they were traitors to their country. Because of a long history of institutional racism and historical revision, some Americans glorify Confederate figures as symbols of an honorable heritage. That is wrong, as there is nothing honorable about betraying your country and starting a civil war for the sole purpose of protecting slavery. Yet, many monuments and statues still exist in their memory.
Conversely, many of the Founding Fathers have also been subject to a heightened level of scrutiny. It’s reasonable to be honest about the fact that many of these men owned slaves despite being viewed as beacons of freedom and equality. There lies heavy irony. But the fact of the matter is, many of these men were also ahead of their time. Their commitment to liberalism and progressive ideas gave birth to our country. Because of that, we should still honor them today and their statues should remain intact. In doing so, that doesn’t mean we have to forget about their shortcomings. They were a product of an entirely different generation and society and that should be accounted for.
Two Contrasting Examples
Some statues deserve to stay, but others deserve to fall. The litmus test is whether we are preserving history or glorifying oppression. To better illustrate the nuances of history and statue removals, it’s helpful to compare two prominent American historical figures. These men were born nearly 60 years apart, but examining how they behaved within the context of their respective times, will illuminate how we can better understand them.
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis is best known for his time as President of the Confederate States. During his lifetime, he was by definition, a traitor to the United States. The actions he took, during the period of history when they occurred, were quite simply wrong. He supported the secession of southern states as a mechanism to preserve slavery. By the 1860s, outside of the American South, slavery was starting to be more widely condemned. Obviously, it was always barbaric, and widespread belief in it in the past never made it ethical or moral. But the point is Davis was behind the times.
As a result of historical revisionism, many monuments and statues of him have been erected. Granted, a lot of them have been taken down, but some still stand. Davis represents racism and historical revisionism, nothing more. Because of that, he doesn’t deserve to be remembered with monuments. Taking statues of him down is not about erasing history or being unpatriotic; it’s about refusing to glorify someone who betrayed their country to protect slavery and is a symbol of oppression. Individuals like him shouldn’t be erased from the historical record. Instead, their positions as honorable figures should be diminished. They are best viewed as examples of what not to be.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most influential figures in American history and is a prominent Founding Father. Despite his long list of accomplishments, he has become a target of recent criticism. Most of that condemnation involves his ownership of slaves. To be fair, those critiques are well deserved. Of course we should look down on those aspects of his life, it would be unwise not to. However, you can’t just look at a person’s mistakes when judging their character. Unlike Davis who has few if any redeemable qualities, Thomas Jefferson is still worth honoring. As the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson helped give birth to many fundamental democratic ideals.
Concerning slavery, he exhibited contradictory behaviors and beliefs. The uncomfortable truth is that slavery has existed as long as civilization has. Slavery is not specific to American history, or any nation’s history. It’s a tragic fact of life. It’s simply worth considering that banning the remembrance of important historical figures simply because they were a product of the time they lived in, isn’t entirely useful. Even if it never amounted to much, the fact is Thomas Jefferson pushed for progressive change and desired a more equal society.
Therefore, I would advise against removing statues that honor Jefferson. He is an integral part of American heritage. Yes, his life is also an example of our shortcomings as a nation. However, overall, his contributions outweigh his flaws. Furthermore, just because we choose to honor him, it doesn’t mean we have to ignore the problematic aspects of his life.
Should Statues Be Removed?
Well, given what we have discussed so far, should statues be removed? Even the greatest, least controversial historical figures are fallible. By the standards set by modern ethics, virtually everyone who lived centuries ago would be seen as a bad person. But that doesn’t mean they were all bad people. Sometimes it just means they were a byproduct of the era they lived in. Today and in the past, good people do bad things, and bad people do good things. We can look back on the past and agree that compared to a modern viewpoint some of their actions were irrefutably wrong. However, that doesn’t have to take away from the important contributions they made to the formation of our country.
When evaluating a figure like Jefferson Davis, there is simply no good reason to have any statues or monuments in his honor. What honor? He betrayed his country, full stop. Conversely, America wouldn’t be America without Thomas Jefferson. His ideas are entrenched in the intellectual soul of our nation. It is vitally important to have conversations about the past, and sometimes we may not all agree on our interpretations, and that’s okay too. However, the objective truth is of far more importance than any of our personal opinions. Even if those facts can make us uncomfortable. The truth is, history is messy and can be difficult to grapple with.
We shouldn’t focus on canceling historical figures, but we should aim to cancel the way history has been misinterpreted over various generations. Confederate statues aren’t about remembering our history, they are propaganda aimed at immortalizing a way of life that was fundamentally morally reprehensible. The Civil War was over slavery, not state’s rights. And even if it was about state’s rights, ask yourself one question. State’s rights to do what?
America’s Dark Secret
The great irony of American history is that our country was founded on the idea that all men were created equal. Yet somehow, throughout the course of our history, we have been constantly embroiled in a debate over who those freedoms should apply to. Accepting this uncomfortable truth needs to be at the core of how we understand American history, and how we choose to remember prominent figures.
Let us know in the comments below if you think the US should remove statues of problematic historical figures.
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