The inanity of the modern academia is apparent for anyone wishing to see. The American Historical Association took it upon themselves to issue a statement on the place of Confederate monuments in the United States. They come down decidedly against the South. They proclaim that “To remove a monument, or to change the name of a school or street, is not to erase history, but rather to alter or call attention to a previous interpretation of history.” According to them, that the public images of the heroes of the South are denigrated and destroyed is not a matter much to be concerned with – after all, it was a mere “previous interpretation of history” that is being removed, and not actual history. History, the proclaim, remains the same – that is, it is what they wish it to be.

They fail to understand that history is, to the Southerner, a twofold fixture of life. It is fact in that we should be mindful of these past peoples’ existence and deeds. It is culture as we gladly hail our heroes and seek to put them on pedestals as examples to ourselves and future generations. One is recognitory, the other, positive.

It might be of interest to see who signed on to promote this modern-day iconoclasm. We have, notably, the “Chinese Historians in the United States,” the “Committee on LGBT History,” and the “New England Historical Association.”   Who better to call for the removal of the vestiges Southern pride, eh?

The group also proclaimed the monuments as cover-up for Southerners’ “terrorism” which “overthr[ew] Reconstruction.” Wow. Our forefathers are terrorists now. Not like those people that burned entire communities to the ground and exterminated whole populations of Indians, right? Why wouldn’t the South be remolded into the “Little North” through Reconstruction? Shameful! One can almost hear the moral indignation screaming forth from the page.

Oh, and they said that the removal of Confederate monuments won’t spur the removal of any other monuments- that there will be no domino effect to completely erase any public reverence for non-progressives figures. That statement was in August. Guess which historians can’t read the future or tell the past?

Of the twenty-four groups to sign, two are explicitly Southern.

Well, they are in name, at least.