The morality and legality of toppling statues.

in iconoclast •  4 years ago 

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When I was a university student, I had a one semester course on French medieval art and architecture, travelling through France from cathedral to cathedral. I saw so many decapitated or otherwise defaced statues of kings and saints, beautiful works of art that had been targeted during the revolution. Religious art, and perhaps all art, ought to be protected from iconoclasts, whether the destroyers' motivation is religious, political, or otherwise.

Rule of law is the bedrock of American society and civilization, regardless of who occupies the White House or which police officers are acquitted or convicted in any particular trial. Four police officers responsible for the death of George Floyd face felony charges, as do the two officers involved in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.

Toppling, beheading, and defacing statues of saints was a bad idea during the French Revolution. Pulling down and defacing statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and other revered figures of American history is a bad idea today.

If once-respected figures are no longer deemed appropriate as subjects for displays of public admiration, then legal, democratic means can be used to remove and replace them. But the unlawful vandalizing of statues should be condemned by leaders of both parties, all across the political spectrum. The rule of law is more important than any statue.

If you allow protesters to destroy sculptures of public figures that you find offensive, then someday counter-protesters may well destroy the sculptures of figures you admire -- perhaps Sojourner Truth or FDR or even MLK. By applauding when the images of historical figures we hate are destroyed, we encourage others to destroy images of historical figures we love.

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