It’s a debate that is not only refusing to go away, but seems to be branching off into other areas.
How do we handle the attitudes that people had in the past? Do we ignore them, do we use them as teaching tools, or do we try to erase them?
Of course, the debate has been ignited by the desires of some to remove the statues of Confederate generals in the U.S., and statues of other leaders who have had philosophies we now frown upon.
The newest chapter comes from Ontario, where elementary school teachers are calling for the name of Sir John A. Macdonald, our first prime minister, to be removed from schools. They cite Macdonald’s attitude towards Indigenous people.
While Macdonald’s attitudes would be widely panned if uttered today, do we need to take the step of removing his name from schools? Do we erase the fact that he was instrumental in the birth of Canada, and was a worthy choice to be our first prime minister thanks to his countless hours spent on making Confederation happen?
Now, let’s be clear: racism is appalling and disgusting, and those who have clung to these beliefs should be criticized for them. There is no defence for intolerance and hate. The same goes for those who have made comments regarding other people’s gender, sexual orientation or disability.
But those who want to see statues removed and school names changed need to take a deeper look at how wide-reaching their campaigns would really be. Brian Zinchuk, in his column in last week’s Mercury, suggested some might want to remove faces from Mount Rushmore.
But do we remove the Tommy Douglas statue from Weyburn because of his comments early in his career about people with disabilities? Do we change the name of every school and street named after someone who supported residential schools?
Sometimes we have to remember the context for these attitudes, statements and actions. They were reflections of the times that these people lived in.
Attitudes we currently view as acceptable might one day be shunned by future generations. Would we want the names of our current leaders, and their accomplishments, to be expunged 100 or 150 years from now by a society that had different standards and laws than us?
Rather than taking down statues, we should use them as a teaching tool. We can use them as examples of how far we as a society have come when it comes to embracing diversity and equal rights.
And they can also serve as a reminder of how far we have to go. Tragic events like the one in Charlottesville, Virginia, only serve to remind us that much progress remains, and there is still a lot of hate out there.
There’s an old adage that those who don’t learn from the mistakes of the past are only doomed to repeat them. So let’s do our best to make sure errors aren’t repeated, rather than trying to erase them.
The Confederate general depicted in a statue was wrong for the beliefs he had, but there are better ways to deal with him than removing a statue.
Plus, removing statues and changing school names will only serve to create a slippery slope that will have us wondering “when will it all end?”
