The war on the living

I can’t overlook the conjunction in time between the Thursday publication in the Democrat-Gazette of Victor Davis Hanson’s essay, titled “War against the dead,” and the Thursday evening terrorist attack by white supremacists in New Zealand in which at least 50 people were killed.

The piece written by Hanson, a California raisin farmer and Stanford University classicist, discusses the toppling of statues of Confederate icons and heroes and other past magnates, leaders, developers and pioneers who have been recognized as exploiters, mass murderers, etc.

He claims that “such attacks usually reveal a lack of confidence” and that “particular victimized groups blame their current plight on the past.”

Nothing could be further from the truth than his empty, unsubstantiated assertions. Instead, the reason for removing these monuments to these unsavory characters is the realization by most Americans that they never did represent the principles upon which our country was founded.

The struggle is between those who know, understand, and follow American principles and those so-called nationalists and white supremacists who continue to wish to turn us back to the days of discrimination and subjugation of others.

For those who would like to know exactly what principles I’m referring to, they may be found in the preamble to the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Just remember that these documents are not menus from which to pick and choose a favorite or two.

DENNIS A. BERRY

Bryant