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School Board Votes To UNDO Historical Whitewash—More To Come?

If we put up a statue of any great Roman emperors, generals, or even a legionnaire, or named buildings after them in any American polity no one would bat a lash—people might not even notice.

The local inhabitants would use such a statue as a landmark, some might sit by it and casually smoke a cigarette while taking in the scenery around them, only noting the statue’s appearance occasionally and in an oft-handed way.

Of course, the Romans were prolific slave traders. The backbone of both the Republic and the Empire was slavery. Slavery was not only an institution in those days but, rather, the way of the world.

Few Romans, if any at all, even thought to question the idea of human slavery.

So what is the difference between homages to great Romans and the Roman Empire, which appear in many places across Europe and America, and a statue of a Confederate general or a soldier?

The answer is that there is no difference—merely the passage of time. Over 1,500 years have elapsed since the fall of the Roman Empire, and only 150 years have passed since the American Civil War.

Would people be so offended about Confederate statues, street names, or building names if the same amount of time had elapsed between the modern day and the Civil War?

Probably not—they might not even be aware that the Confederate States of America practiced slavery.

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I say all this to highlight the absolute absurdity of being angry at history—so furious that an individual or group would seek to whitewash history through the removal of statues, facades, and names meant to pay homage to a world long gone.

This anger occurred all across America in the aftermath of the nationwide BLM riots. As a result, schools and public institutions across the country removed statues of Confederate generals and soldiers, renamed streets, and schools.

However, one school board has now voted to change that decision and change the names of the schools in its district back to the Confederate figures they were named after.

Not because the Confederacy was a great thing, but because removing statues cannot change the past and history is history. We can learn from it, honor accomplishments, and be better people through observing history.

We can become much better people than the people we would have become through sticking our heads in the sand and pretending like history never happened.

The Shenandoah County School Board voted 5-1 on Thursday to restore the names of its public schools back to the Confederate leaders they were named after, take a look:

WHSV 3 provided local coverage for the story:

The board members who voted in favor of the restoration of the Confederate names said the 2020 board took shortcuts and made decisions without public opinion.

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“This was not an innocent mistake by some inexperienced school board,” District 2 School Board member Gloria Carlineo said.

“No, this was a carefully choreographed advance of a school board alluding to ignore the people they represented.”

Many individuals pointed out that the BLM era is over and that sensible Americans have retaken their local school boards to force change.

BBC News noted:

Community members had been pushing for a reversal, arguing the 2020 name change was unpopular.

The vote marked the first such U-turn anywhere in the US.

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