On Aug. 28, the Virginia state legislature removed the last three Confederate monuments from Capitol Square, a park near the state Capitol in Richmond. Conservatives haven’t paid much attention to this story, aside from a handful of op-eds in right-leaning media, mostly opposing the decision. In this particular case, Virginia’s decision was the right one. Conservatives must rethink how they engage the Left on the issue of historical memory.
Confederate monuments should come down for both patriotic and moral reasons. The Confederacy tried to dismember this union for the sake of a wicked political project. If someone’s main claim to fame as a public figure is having fought for the Confederacy, they do not deserve our admiration. Nor do they deserve to have statues framed in a way that honors them.
