After Dylann Roof, a white 19 year old, shot and killed nine African Americans in a historical African American church on June 17, the question of whether or not the confederate flag and other civil war monuments should be removed from the United States has arisen. This would include statues, school names, flags, mascots, and any other object linked to the Confederacy. Thus, potentially erasing any trace of the Confederate’s presence in the south or anywhere in the country. 

The Confederate monuments should not be removed from America. Although many of these things symbolize hate and oppression, they also symbolize a time in America’s past that cannot and should not be erased. The Civil War is a flaw in the United States’ history, but nothing can be learned from past mistakes if they are ignored and covered up.

America’s past is full of scars and bruises that make it imperfect. Slavery is one of the issues that is looked back on now and seen as one of the United States’ biggest flaws. However, there is no reason to pretend it never happened. A similar historical disgrace is the Holocaust; over six million Jewish people were killed in Nazi death camps that still remain standing today. Nazi death camps are remembered not because anyone believes the mass slaughter was justified but to be a constant reminder of what evil and negative mindsets can do to a nation. Camps such as Dachau help people understand what happened during the Holocaust and the magnitude of the situation. They also help people to realize what happens when everyone points the finger at one race or one group as the overall problem. Tearing the camps down would, indeed, erase the physical monument, but it would also erase anyone’s chance to learn from the horrors of the time. The same could be said for Confederate monuments; people should not be proud of slavery, but it happened. Even great leaders such as Washington and Jefferson owned slaves. In fact, all of the founding fathers, with the exception of John Adams, were slave owners. This doesn’t mean Mount Rushmore should be imploded or the Washington monument destroyed; instead, the monuments should be viewed for what they are, symbols of America’s past, the good and the bad. Monuments represent the past and all the components that make up a nation’s history, and unfortunately America does not have a perfect past. However, if people can learn from past mistakes, they will not be doomed to repeat them.

Additionally, the Civil War is a time in America’s past that represents division and oppression. For the most part, the war is remembered as the fight against slavery, but to many it is viewed as the south rising against Yankee aggression. This shows that the many confederate symbols are viewed completely different to each individual. The confederate or rebel flag may represent racism to some and southern pride to others. As a whole, a country cannot only take one sides opinions into consideration. It’s more important to destroy the racist mindset in individuals instead of destroying what some believe represents such racism. People are far too concerned with the physical monuments versus the type of behavior and feelings people inherently are passing down. The past is something that cannot be changed or rewritten, as hard as many may try. People can destroy the symbols of racist history, but the issue will still remain if it is never handled with the same importance. The blood will not be washed away if the guilt is never confronted but, instead, is covered by the government.

Some states and institutions have already taken steps to remove confederate flags and monuments. People feel as if they bring too much pain to African American’s and maybe they do, but they also bring a remembrance to a time that is vital to improving America’s future. People have the right to fly the rebel flag for whatever reason they believe. Many just view it as southern pride and rebellion and some fly it for racist reasons, but instead of creating a controversy and another battle American’s should focus on creating a future generation that believes in true equality for all and sees confederate monuments as symbols of the past that we should never forget but also should never repeat.

In a perfect world all things evil could be undone and erased. Slavery along with the Civil War would never have happened and racism would no longer exist. But that is not realistic and history cannot be rewritten. To ensure things like the holocaust and slavery never again happen on this Earth, or in this country, people have to be able to accept what they once were and be able to understand why and how to prevent it. That is not doable if American’s continue to attempt to cover up this nation’s flaws. To learn from past mistakes one must be able to acknowledge mistakes in their past. Don’t destroy the monuments that possibly represent racism; destroy the mindset that creates it.