A trend to remove statues of historical figures began in the United States last year, and it has influenced similar actions in Canada, most recently with the removal of a statue of Sir John A. MacDonald from City Hall in Victoria, B.C.
As that city’s council stated in their controversial decision, this was an attempt at reconciliation with First Nations people, since Canada’s first prime minister had had a hand in forming the residential school system in Canada.
Last year, a statue of Cornwallis was removed because of objections to his role in Canadian history.
In the U.S., statues of such historical figures as General Robert E. Lee were removed as they were considered a symbol of America’s racist past.
Americans weren’t the first to remove reminders of a shameful past, of course. At the fall of Communism in the U.S.S.R., there were statues of Lenin and Marx that were pulled down as Russians sought to cut ties with the former Communist leaders.
The question which arises in all of these cases is whether it’s a move to erase a reminder of a historical wrong, or if it’s an attempt to rewrite history using the lens of current beliefs and practices, or simply in the name of political correctness.
As the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20”, meaning it’s all too easy to see wrong actions and wrong attitudes after the fact. While people are living through a given circumstance, it’s not always easy to see what the right thing to do is, and it’s not always possible to stop a wrong action if the person or political party doing it is in power.
When a historical figure is viewed in the light of current circumstances and beliefs, people can see where the mistakes were made — but history can’t be rewritten simply because people today don’t agree with it or view that history with distaste or anger or outrage.
Removing a statue of a Father of Confederation is not going to make reconciliation happen with First Nations people, but rather sitting down with them and actually talking with them about the wrongs done, and then moving on with actions to right those wrongs might actually help.
History cannot be rewritten, but it should be taught and then learned from as examples of what to do and what not to do. As we know, if people don’t learn from it, they are doomed to repeat it. Attempting to erase history takes away the lessons that people should be learning from the mistakes of our forefathers. — Greg Nikkel
