I live in a town in Fairfield County Connecticut that really doesn't have too many statues or monuments outside of the cemeteries. There's a 9-11 monument commemorating the residents who died in the World Trade Center and on Flight 93 on that day. There's a plaque outside the old post office in memory of those who fought and died in World War I. There's a plaque dealing with the Revolutionary War and one for the Civil War. Maybe there are more, but if so, I don't know where (and I've lived here for over 30 years.) With the exception of the 9-11 memorial, I have no idea what any of these plaques and statues say. I only know the 9-11 one because I knew some of the people listed on it.
The only point of my story is that I strongly believe that most people don't pay any attention to statues, plaques and monuments unless they were directly involved in what is being commemorated. New York City is nearby. As anyone who has ever been there can tell you, it is filled with statues and other commemorations of history. I lived in Manhattan for many years and worked there for more than a quarter of a century. As I think about it now, I cannot recall the details of a single statue in Manhattan except for the one of the dog in Central Park. My guess is that most people are like me and have no idea who is being depicted in the statues. (There is the Statue of Liberty, but that is not in Manhattan.)
Suddenly, the nation finds itself in the midst of a campaign by the media and some others to get rid of a large number of these statues, memorials, plaques, and the like. Why? Most people don't support the removal of the statues; a poll taken yesterday showed that a large majority of Americans want the statues left in place. There's really no reason to get the country up in arms about things that are so meaningless. All that is happening is that the media is trying to divide us all into those "good" people who want the statues gone and those "racists" who want no change. It's a silly argument. No one really cares. If you were to stop 1000 people on the street in New York and ask them to identify any "offensive" statues in the city, most likely 999 couldn't even name one, and it might be 1000 out of 1000. The media/leftist campaign is completely phony. No one knows about the statues and, more important, no one cares about them. We have so many problems as a country that we ought to focus our attention on solving those problems rather than on wasting time on statues.
The only point of my story is that I strongly believe that most people don't pay any attention to statues, plaques and monuments unless they were directly involved in what is being commemorated. New York City is nearby. As anyone who has ever been there can tell you, it is filled with statues and other commemorations of history. I lived in Manhattan for many years and worked there for more than a quarter of a century. As I think about it now, I cannot recall the details of a single statue in Manhattan except for the one of the dog in Central Park. My guess is that most people are like me and have no idea who is being depicted in the statues. (There is the Statue of Liberty, but that is not in Manhattan.)
Suddenly, the nation finds itself in the midst of a campaign by the media and some others to get rid of a large number of these statues, memorials, plaques, and the like. Why? Most people don't support the removal of the statues; a poll taken yesterday showed that a large majority of Americans want the statues left in place. There's really no reason to get the country up in arms about things that are so meaningless. All that is happening is that the media is trying to divide us all into those "good" people who want the statues gone and those "racists" who want no change. It's a silly argument. No one really cares. If you were to stop 1000 people on the street in New York and ask them to identify any "offensive" statues in the city, most likely 999 couldn't even name one, and it might be 1000 out of 1000. The media/leftist campaign is completely phony. No one knows about the statues and, more important, no one cares about them. We have so many problems as a country that we ought to focus our attention on solving those problems rather than on wasting time on statues.
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