The Robert E. Lee statue previously stood in Charlottesville, Virginia.
We are reminded of the melt down and destruction of history by the destroyers of civilization foretold by George Orwell in his book, 1984. Orwell gave future citizens a warning:
Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.
Just this week the Charlottesville City Council voted 4-0, to transfer ownership of the Robert E. Lee Monument to the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. This organization plans to melt down this Registered Historic Landmark, commissioned by local philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire in 1917 and dedicated in 1924, to create “public art.”
In total McIntire donated three monuments to the city all of which the city removed on the weekend of July 10-11, 2021: Confederate General Robert E. Lee; Lt. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson; and Lewis, Clark and Sacagawea. He also donated one to the University of Virginia: George Rogers Clark, which was also removed along with its pink marble plinth. The granite pedestals for the Lee and Jackson monuments currently remain standing in their respective parks.
What this means is that if any discontented group wants to remove an historical monument, statue, memorial, etc.—even a tombstone or grave marker—if they raise enough hue and cry they can have it removed if they can create enough fear in the council members. Marx called this “revolutionary terror” in his article “The Victory of the Counter-Revolution in Vienna” in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung (No. 136, 7 November 1848), or “communist terror” in the book by Leon Trotsky named, Dictatorship vs Communism: Terrorism and Communism. Chapter four is entitled “Terrorism“.
Creating fear, or terror, is a tactic of local, national and international communist, socialist, and Taliban activist groups. These groups create hype, propaganda and fear, insinuating that the monuments are “racist”, symbols of “white supremacy” and meant to belittle minorities. This is the Bolshevist style rhetoric that is being used across the country to remove and destroy beautiful monuments, memorials and historical artwork to commemorate giants in American culture, such as Lee and even the John C. Calhoun monument in Charleston, SC.
The 115 foot monument to commemorate Vice President and US Senator from SC John C. Calhoun, stood for over 120 years on Marion Square in Charleston, SC until removed in 2020 by ethnic cleansing agents. Photo courtesy Pinterest.
And by the way, all of these monuments are listed as National Historic Landmarks that represent the best of American culture. Thus, the removal of these National Historic Landmarks signals that unAmerican foreign ideological groups, often led by ideologically charged Marxist and Maoist students, espousing Communism and socialism are winning the culture war on American soil because citizens and council members are afraid of reprisals for standing against Communist radicals.
Those radical ideas and behaviors are found in street thuggery like Black Lives Matter and Antifa both of which represent Communist party groups trying to overthrow the American republic. Riots, street violence and terror is what gave rise to NAZIs and Bolsheviks in Germany and Russia.
Statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, William McKinley, Andrew Jackson and other American Presidents and heroes are also tumbling. In fact over 180 monuments, statues and memorials have been defaced, removed or destroyed since protests began in May 2020 by the Marxist Black Lives Matter and Antifa groups.
The actions of the those destroying historic markers, memorials and monuments throughout the country are creating animas towards those who condone and do so. Groups and individuals who have sought removal either through governmental means or by street gang methods are associated with these various Marxist groups and have a purpose in over throwing the United States landscape as we have known it.
Former President number 44 was keen to say that his intention was to “fundamentally change America“. Fundamentally changing America was the hallmark of the Obama administration who encouraged, and actually did make change take place toward an Islamic and Marxist bent. In fact, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in 2008, “who led a revolution there in 1979, [said] Barack Obama’s presidential bid is a “revolutionary” phenomenon, and Americans are “laying the foundations for a revolutionary change.”
That has restarted with renewed vigor under the Joe Biden administration to the destruction and remaking of our country into the image and legacy of Marx, Lenin and Stalin.
The mission of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center states on their website:
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center’s mission is to honor and preserve the rich heritage and legacy of the African-American community of Charlottesville-Albemarle, Virginia and to promote a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, the contributions of African Americans.
Apparently, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center cares little for anybody else’s public presence but their own narrow version of what’s acceptable for public consumption. The group just eliminated a man of character who was white. Why not just erect a statue to a black man if that is what they wanted? Obviously that’s not what they wanted, rather they sought elimination of certain people represented.
The Executive Director of African American Heritage group, Dr. Andrea Douglas, said in a YouTube promo that the organization will melt down the statue and the bronze will be forged into a new exhibit at a black-themed museum across town. She said they will remold it into a new piece of public art that ‘expresses the city’s values of inclusivity and racial justice.’ Apparently that inclusivity does not include conservative, Christian white folk.
The Charlottesville Council Building with relief sculpture of founding fathers and Virginians James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. Photo courtesy 2RW.
The removal of these nationally recognized and culturally relevant Charlottesville historical monuments were initiated in February 2017, when a black high school student, Zyahna Bryant, started a petition to remove the statue of Lee. The Charlottesville City Council voted in agreement with the petition and by July 2021, the statue of Lee and the other statues were down.
That led to the city’s plans being held up due to lawsuits against the removal. Later, the city permitted a rally to take place by protestors who believed the Lee statue should be preserved and kept in place. The issue reached a crescendo in August of that year, when organizers of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally gathered in the city to defend the statue of Lee.
The “Unite the Right” rally led to staged riots taking place fomented by Black Lives Matter and Antifa communist groups. This year “a civil action suit on behalf of the injured students handed down a verdict naming Richard Spencer and three other defendants guilty of being liable for the injuries and awarding the plaintiffs over $22 million in total.”
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center has raised $590,000 that will go towards moving the monument from its storage location towards its final meltdown destruction venue. Although the monument was donated to the city, the citizens and city of Charlottesville will receive no money from the group. This is a sad fate to a monument that has for almost a century displayed the image of a Virginian of character, integrity, dignity and honor.
The Charlottesville City Council will again meet December 20th to determine the fate of the Stonewall Jackson monument. The Charlottesville City Council would probably like to have your views and insight to their planning on the fate of the Jackson statue and others. You may reach them at the following addresses:
Charlottesville City Council chambers
605 E Main Street
2nd Floor
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 911
Charlottesville, VA 22902
The NY Post quoted Jefferson School African American Heritage Center executive director, Andrea Douglas, as saying, “Our hope with ‘Swords into Plowshares’ is to create something that transforms what was once toxic in our public space into something beautiful that can be more reflective of our entire community’s social values.” She said further that “We’re giving people opportunities to engage with our own narratives and our own histories. This project offers a road map for other communities to do the same.”
The removal of the Lee statue was reprehensible in itself, but the threat of melting down the iconic memorial is indeed heartbreaking to many. Historically, the statue depicts a saddened Lee returning from Appomattox to announce to his war worn and emaciated men that the war was over.
From the onset Lee pushed and promoted for the Southern people and states to reconcile with the northern people and unite again into one nation. Lee himself led the way in reconciling by his action of taking the leadership of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia (later renamed Washington and Lee). He did so, in his words, out of a desire to train “young men to do their duty.” What more is needed today than that young men do their duty to protect their country from enemies both foreign and domestic, instead of advocating Marxist ideologies and attempting to destroy the country!
Virginian Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, father of General Robert E. Lee. Photo courtesy The History Junkie
Robert E. Lee, and his father and grandfather, were men written about who upheld the traits of honor and integrity. These are admirable qualities and should be sought after in building character. Lee was admired and respected not only by the men of the Confederacy, but by the federal army opposing generals as well. Federal General U.S. Grant showed that respect in the conversation and terms of surrender at Appomattox.
The Lee family since the Revolutionary War days and Confederate General Robert E. Lee have always held a high place of honor in American history. It is only with the appearance of brash Bolshevik style Marxists trained by currently infiltrated and decrepit universities over the past 60 years following in the footsteps of the Frankfurt School that the admiration and respect for Lee and other American heroes has declined. Following the war, Lee told his men to “Go home now, and if you make as good citizens as you have soldiers, you will do well” with no hatred toward their former enemies.
The statue’s sculptor, Henry Merwin Shrady, was ironically and simultaneously working on a statue of Lee for Charlottesville and of the US Grant Memorial in Washington, DC. Shrady was able to capture the essence of two Generals in opposing armies and show the mutual respect each deserved. That’s the way Americans used to do, they could see the value and show respect even if they didn’t agree with each other.
Melting down the statue of Lee does not change who Lee was or his character, but it does reflect on the lack of character of this current generation and the Marxist ideologues roaming the streets of America. Aesthetically, it robs future generations of American Sculptural Art worthy of emulation. Intellectually, it voids and prohibits young and old minds of probing and discovering the historical landscape that surrounds them, so that these members of our society no longer see sculpture that makes them ask a question of who is that, why is he there, what did he do, is that someone to emulate, etc.
Removing Lee’s monument, and others, is ultimately an act of cowardice in facing history and truth by covering it up and removing it out of sight. Cowards fear truth! And in this case by totally destroying the thing that has intellectual, mental and spiritual power over them they seek to remove the reminders of who we are as a country and where we’ve come from. That’s just a step in removing history so you must look to Marxist rulers for the “truth” they want you to believe. Whoever controls history, controls the present and future.
The Marxists of this world seek to replace Lee’s statuary and others because in the end they are cowards who strike in the cover of darkness playing the ‘race card’ and accusing others of what they themselves are guilty. Perhaps they will settle on an American Marxist first, then perhaps Karl himself, or perhaps Mao, will appear if they get their way. They may succeed for a while, but sooner or later men with the character and courage of Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, and other heroes will arise again and take back control of this land of “liberty and justice for all” and stand against their Marxist idea of transforming America.
A well known Russian proverb says: “Ignore history, you lose an eye, forget history, and you lose two eyes.”
Michael Reed is Editor and Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online, and TheStandardSC YouTube channel where many video reports may be found. Please share freely and donate to The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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This is great, Michael Reed—so perfectly said. It covers all the topics related to the changing of our history and traditions now.