CWRT-- Part 11: One Speaker on Confederate Monuments

Ron Lee, associate professor of political science at Rockford University spoke at the RRVCWRT in early November on the controversy surrounding the removal of Confederate monuments to the Civil War.

"The argument over these  monuments is part of a larger debate about how we want to remember our past," says Lee.  Both sides have staked out extreme opposing positions and seem unwilling to admit that their opponents have something to contribute to a fuller understanding of America's past."

He describes these positions as  represented by  the "1619 Project," which was produced by writers at the New York Times, and the 1776 Commission, an advisory committee appointed by then-president Trump in response to the "1619 Project."

According to Lee, the "1619 Project," sees American history mostly as a story of racism and oppression, whereas the 1776 Commission wants to promote "patriotic education" but dos so at the expense of "acknowledging significant political, social and economic injustices of the past in its insistence on the uniqueness of our founding in 1776 on principles of equality and liberty."

--Old Secesh