Monument

TO THE EDITOR:

It is time. It is past time for the local Confederate monument to go. Monuments filled a need for mourning white Southerners to remember their dead. After the battles were over, bodies often could not be identified and were usually not returned to families but were buried in common fields. The monument was a place to put some flowers and remember them. Unfortunately, the monuments served too as a reminder of a cause—a cause that emphasized slavery and the separation of the states and the races— and we do not need to separate. We need to unify.

As for those who are concerned and say, “it is history,” I ask this question: do we raise monuments to the men who rounded up and confined the JapaneseAmericans during World War II? No, of course not. We may preserve the site of a camp and take our children there to explain the mistakes of the past, but we do not honor what happened there.

After the monument comes down and is placed in a cemetery or museum, we need to think about what comes next for our public spaces. We have two wonderful creative talents who lived in this area: Scott Joplin and Maya Angelou. Scott Joplin created uniquely American music. Maya Angelou created uniquely American stories and poetry. And, for those who feel that Ross Perot’s contributions to business deserve honor, perhaps he could be considered also.

It is time; let us focus on the best of our past and on the fine future we can build together.

Lauren Hehmeyer Texarkana, Texas

TO THE EDITOR:

I want to thank the Gazette for asking for opinions about the removal of the Confederate Monument. I think the monument is beautiful and adds to the beauty of the city and that it teaches an important lesson. I think we need more things of art and beauty in our area. Murals are nice. Public buildings can be very beautiful. The post office is a beautiful building.

We need to add to our cities. The Confederate Monument has a history lesson to teach about our country’s history that is extremely important. It should stay in a very prominent place. 155 years ago there was a civil war in this country and a large number of men from this area died and are not buried here. They are buried on the battlefields where they died. Their families cried and were very sad. The Confederate Monument was built in memory of those soldiers. Maybe we could have a monument in memory of people who were enslaved. Another beautiful statue would teach about the cruelty of slavery.

The descendants of former slaves should erect a statue would teach our children that slavery did exist here and was abolished.

If you think the Civil War was totally about slavery, you need to know that slavery was once a common practice all over the world. Most countries gradually stopped having slaves when it was no longer profitable. We need to find ways to help the people that are still enslaved. Christians should turn their attention to that problem. There are still women who are being bought and sold by more powerful people for pleasure and profit. How can we help them?

Frances Poer Fox New Boston, Texas