Sunday, June 14, 2020

Oh, Kentucky










Here's a letter that I plan to put in tomorrow's mail to the Hopkins County judge-executive and each of the fiscal-court magistrates:
Thank you very much for your service to our county.  
Please take the safest legal means possible to have the Confederate monument removed from the old courthouse lawn.   
The monument teaches nothing; it fails to convey the history of our county, which was divided in loyalty; the war, which was bloody and non-glorious, or the failed Confederacy ideal. Rather, it’s an ornament propping up a dangerous myth. The soldiers that the monument purports to represent sadly squandered their valor, courage and loyalty in a bankrupt system that was sure to fail because it was counter to God’s/natural truth that all people are created equal.  
Even more important than its lack of historical value, however, the monument does not square with the values of our county and country today. We should not risk any person living in or traveling through Hopkins County thinking our community is at all under the spell of the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy” lie.   
As the U.S. Marines said June 5 in announcing a prohibition on public displays of the Confederate battle flag, “The Confederate battle flag has all too often been co-opted by violent extremists and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our Corps. This presents a threat to our core values, unit cohesion, security, and good order and discipline. This must be addressed.”  
That’s solid logic that is applicable to our local problem. The monument is a disgraceful mistake. Perhaps it could be relocated to a cemetery or the historical society.  
Again, thanks for your work. And thanks for reading my opinion.

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