A good read: How trump dislikes losers except for Confederate generals

[pepperbear]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/23/funny-how-trumps-dislike-losers-doesnt-extend-confederate-generals/


*SNIP*

Those who contributed a great deal to the development of our country deserve to be recognized, however flawed they were as human beings.

The Founding Fathers easily pass the test. Jefferson, Washington and other Founders were slaveholders, but they also produced a Declaration of Independence that declared “all men are created equal.” The Constitution did not make good on that promise for far too long, but eventually it was amended and laws were passed to extend the blessings of liberty to all Americans.

*SNIP*

That Trump has adopted the history of the Confederacy as his own makes obvious his real agenda. This isn’t about “preserving” or “remembering” history; we can keep alive the history of the Civil War without paying tribute to the losing side. If Trump truly wanted to honor our past, his Treasury Department would have replaced Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman.

This is about preserving white supremacy. Monuments to the “Lost Cause” were expressly erected to maintain support for segregation. As a towering Confederate monument in Augusta, Ga., puts it: “No nation rose so white and fair / none fell so pure of crime.” Communities that maintain such monuments are implicitly endorsing their white-power message.

When we celebrate Confederates, we do so because of their racism. By contrast, when we celebrate other great Americans, from Jefferson to Theodore Roosevelt, we do so despite their racism. That’s a crucial distinction that should not be lost in the heat of the moment.

[smirkymonkey]

1. K&R