Debates discussion

Thanks for this topic, Alison!

Well, this is a vehement debate in our future...

Should we tear down national monuments? Should we destroy historical statues? Are we erasing history? Or are we removing irrelevant junk to make room for fresh creativity and insight?

Wow. This is a really hard, a really emotional, debate.

I've actually cried about this before.

Here's why:

In my opinion, no, we should never destroy national monuments and statues. Ever. Why do I say this? Well, there were these people during WW2 called The Monuments Men.

These were brave men and women who risked their lives to save pieces of art and culture that had been taken by Hitler - to be destroyed.

Wow. Who on earth would risk their lives for that? Isn't a human life far more valuable than a piece of art? Yes, of course it is. But here's the thing: there's an entire nation, an entire people, tied to each and every piece of art.

When you destroy a painting, or a national monument, or a statue, or a book, you're destroying a culture's foundation. Yes, the people can always create something new, but there's something to be said for having visual depictions of history.

Wow. Thanks for listening to my ted talk, guys. That got really long. And now I'm going to go feel depressed while thinking about all the culture getting destroyed these days...

We should never destroy our historic monuments!!! They all stand for something that is part of this nations past!!! That statue of George Washington is honoring the man who lead us to a free county!!! The WWII monument honors those who fought for the world and our safety!!! (I have no idea if these are real statues I was just trying to prove a point).

Book wrote: "We should never destroy our historic monuments!!! They all stand for something that is part of this nations past!!! That statue of George Washington is honoring the man who lead us to a free county..."

agreed

Yes!!
People are tearing down statues as monuments of historical figures just because they did something that wasn't right, like have slaves. But you can't judge someone just based off their mistakes. Statues are meant to honor the good things about that person and what they accomplished. Of course they made mistakes - everyone does. But you can't judge based simply off that. We need to have heroes - people to look up to and aspire to. If we rip down statues and defame those people, who can we look up to?

I think there's room for both. I mean, I think there are definitely important ties to pieces of history, but being overly sentimental doesn't allow room for growth. Tangible parts of the past are definitely to be respected and treasured, as well as present things that will become history one day. But I'd definitely say no to destroying any historical artifacts.

I agree with Liz, Alison, and Kaylee. We can't defame people because they've done something wrong. Just because they were famous when they messed up doesn't mean they're somehow less holy than anyone else. That's something that really bothers me about tearing down statues as people are doing now. Just because the person made mistakes doesn't mean we're supposed to focus on that. And frankly? When you tear down a statue of George Washington because you don't like that he had slaves, the statement you're making isn't that. It's actually that you aren't grateful and that you don't appreciate your country. I'm gonna stop now before I end up ranting for an hour...

Monuments cannot be destroyed. I mean think of all the history down in DC and in other parts of the country. Think of all the men that fought and DIED for this country. Think of all the GREAT presidents and Constitution signers that made this country what it is today. If we start stripping our country of our monuments, we're not just stripping it of history. We're stripping it of America's pride, we're stripping it of all that we stand for. Without those monuments we've lost a part of our country. That's sad

Monuments cannot be destroyed. I mean think of all the history down in DC and in other parts of the country. Think of all the men that fought and DIED for this country. Think of all the GREAT presidents and Constitution signers that made this country what it is today. If we start stripping our country of our monuments, we're not just stripping it of history. We're stripping it of America's pride, we're stripping it of all that we stand for. Without those monuments we've lost a part of our country. That's sad

You're so right, Ava.

Okay, you guys are making really good points. I guess it would kinda be like erasing history to tear down old monuments.

It's like if you took down the Paul Revere monument, that's an important monument that means a lot to America, if you tear that down it might mean nothing to some people, but mean the world to others.

There's no right way to do this, therefore it isn't right. Each and every monument means something to America, whether it's big or small. important or minor. It's history and nothing can change that.

I definitely agree with y'all, although Clara brought up a good point: is it a memorial or an idol?
I think that the important statues, the ones we're talking about like the Paul Revere monument, aren't idolizing those people or even those events, but are rather memorializing the memory of it, reminding people what our country stands for and why we're here.
On the flip side, with the monuments representing ugly things that people want to destroy, even those are important. What happens when we forget history? History repeats itself. That's another reason why the memorials are there, so we don't forget our mistakes.

Denali wrote: "I definitely agree with y'all, although Clara brought up a good point: is it a memorial or an idol?
I think that the important statues, the ones we're talking about like the Paul Revere monument, a..."

I def. agree with you. I guess both the good and the bad have to be preserved for acurate history.

well said, i totally agree

I hate it when I hear on the news about how people tear down monuments and stuff. It gets me so upset. That's a part of our history. Yeah, I get how people complain about this person having slaves or that person making this mistake in life or having a wrong belief. But those things are still a huge part of our history. If you take away those things, what will be left? All the things that we faught for in America won't have much meaning if we forget our origin.

The Nazis tried to do the same with the Jews. They tried to take away their history and thus take away their identity. It was so wrong. We need reminders so we can learn. We need those things to help us remember to not repeat the same mistakes. I think we all just need the right mindset for this.

Why do you think God told the Israelites to keep so many traditions and stuff? It's because He didn't want them to forget. He knew if they didn't have reminders they would stray and become like the other unbelieving nations. He wanted them to always remember who they were in Him.

Anyway, I'm just gonna stop now cos I gotta get ready for work soon. 😊

Did you notice how the Nazis seem to be reappearing in everyday life.

😂😂 yes

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 YES GET IT WITH THE LATINNNNNN

If you get rid of Bach and Mozart and Beethoven and Chopin I will personally hunt you down!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^