Events in Charlottesville are but the latest and perhaps most terrifying clashes over the proposed removal of the statue of a Confederate icon or symbol from a place of public honor. Other cities have had contentious times when statues are taken down, and states go through throes of dissension when it is decided that the Confederate flag should no longer fly over the capitol. Those who favor preserving these symbols often use a version of George Santayana’s view that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

But if preserving history through symbols is so important, why not have a statue of Benedict Arnold in New London? After all Arnold, like Robert E. Lee, was an American hero before he became a traitor to his country. Certainly we wouldn’t want to repeat the burning of American cities due to forgetting our history.

In reality there is no chance we will return to the horrors of a slave-owning society because we remove the statues and symbols of those who fought to perpetuate it. We have museums and an education system to learn about our history; we should be beyond the need to glorify the worst of it.

Thomas M. Moriarty

Niantic