I used not to care whether the Confederate memorials remained or were removed.  In Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, where the footprints of stars are embedded in concrete, those of forgotten stars of yesteryear are sometimes removed to make room for fresher celebrities.  So likewise with memorials.  What moved us yesterday may not move us today; ergo, make room for fresh enthusiasms. But on reflection, something different – and alien – comes to the surface with the removal of the statues. Those represent a part of our history – the history of all of us, black and white, slave and slave master, whether our own actual ancestors were here then or not.  We inherit that family history.  Not all of us were saints.  But this isn't the Vatican; we are not in the business of pushing for canonization of our past, just its remembrance. We are one new people here, e pluribus unum, and not still a collection of separate...(Read Full Post)