As an aging baby boomer, I have a lot of cultural baggage to unpack when I read about people pulling down statues in all manner of settings. While I certainly sympathize with anyone toppling monuments dedicated to those who committed treason in defense of slavery, the idea of questioning the legacy of our country's founders is a much harder lift. Unfortunately for many of us, once you start down that road, it is hard to backtrack.
Yes, Jefferson and Washington were slaveholders who benefitted from the unpaid labor of black men and women. In Jefferson's case, we can probably add rape to the list of crimes he never was charged with. John Adams was a more nuanced case, but he certainly never advocated for political rights for anyone other than white men with property.
Tucker Carlson inveighs against Tammy Duckworth for daring to validate criticism of Washington for his slaveholding. For Carlson and older Faux News viewers, support for traditional views of US history is rapidly becoming a litmus test of politicians' worth. Meanwhile, Cheetolini has gone all out on defending heroes of the confederacy and the flag that stands for the most hateful era of our collective history.
As I said, I have no trouble with those who would dance on the graves of Robert E. Lee and his fellow traitors. I also have no use for racists like Andrew Jackson whose "trail of tears" resulted in the deaths of thousands of native Americans. A clear eyed view of our history is necessary, including revising our understanding of the founders. However, it is one thing to revise history. It is quite another to deny it.
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