The idea that there are still parks and places named after Civil War Generals from the South

[Travelman]

75. Ever been to Russia?

Those people will put up a statue just because it's Tuesday. They have memorials all over the place to some considerably less than savory people. There are still the occasional monuments to Stalin around. They still have a huge reverence to the the Romanovs. Lenin was not exactly a super-nice guy, but they have his tomb right there on Red Square.

People have their historical characters. Many are flawed. We honor Patton, who certainly was no angel in any sense. We honor, as noted, Washington, Jefferson, and many other plantation-owners of the period. Everyone at Arlington is buried within sight of Robert E. Lee's house, but the house still stands. We honor Ike, who engaged in some rather nasty behavior himself, cheating on his wife while he was in England.


Let people have their monuments. When history decides that they're no longer worth having, people will tear them down.