(Here’s Deseret News piece by Kelsey Dallas quoting me and other religious voices about attacks on historic statues.)
SALT LAKE CITY — Mark Tooley grew up in northern Virginia, surrounded by reminders of America’s messy, inspiring and often misunderstood past.
For him, the historic statues and battlefields were like an extra set of teachers. They sparked conversations about his community, his country and his Christian faith.
“They shaped how I developed religiously and politically,” said Tooley, who serves as the president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C.
(Read the rest of the story here.)
Comment by David on July 25, 2020 at 7:47 am
Most statues of Columbus are based on a painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The basis of this was an inscription added to the painting sometime after its completion.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437645?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=columbus&offset=40&rpp=20&pos=60
The arrival of Columbus was the first significant contact between the Old and New Worlds. This proved a disaster for native populations with the importation of European diseases. The actions of Columbus were not the best either.
Columbus was a convenient icon for America (“Columbia”) as he was a non-British “founder” at a time when things British were out of favor. He was also popular with Italian immigrants and Catholics in general. Recent scholarship suggests he might have been Spanish, but he was known to have been rather mysterious as to his origins. Some of his statues are major works of public art such as in front of Union Station in Washington and in Columbus Circle in New York. It would be a shame to destroy these given their artistic merit.
Comment by Lee Cary on July 25, 2020 at 8:39 am
China’s Red Guards also relished the destruction of religious idols.
Why wouldn’t American’s.
Comment by David on July 27, 2020 at 4:06 pm
The purpose of the Chinese Cultural Revolution was to destroy the history of China. Even the Forbidden City palaces were in danger of demolition. The present movement is to remember a past that was forgotten or whitewashed. The removal of public monuments is something that should be decided by governmental authority and not mobs.
Comment by Tom on July 27, 2020 at 5:30 pm
There IS that Second Commandment thingy.