Ever since an angry white supremacist murdered nine innocent people five years ago, we have been re-examining our national reverence of Confederate symbols and statues. Many city and state governments, including jurisdictions in Maryland, have come to the conclusion that yeah it’s pretty messed up that we allow traitors and people who fought to keep slavery on pedestals!

Well, County Executive candidate #kirbydelauter has some thoughts on this issue:

What kind of history instruction did Kirby receive that he wasn’t able to understand the causes of the Civil War? Obviously not an adequate one:

TRUE FREEDOM?? Man, that has to be the single most ironic assessment of the Civil War that these Yokel eyes have ever had the displeasure of seeing! And we can only imagine the intellectual depths of this conversation that took place at Thurmont’s very own country club!

Whether Kirby knows it or not, he and others like him, are victims of ” The Lost Cause” movement which sought through books, movies and STATUES to propagate a false history about the war. It sought to glorify and misconstrue ( think State’s Rights) the cause and deify those in charge, especially Robert E. Lee. Many, if not most, of these statues were erected in the 20th century during the time of Jim Crow. If that message is lost on you, then read this explanation that hangs in the Atlanta History Center:

These statues are symbols of division and hate. Removing them from public places does not mean that we will forget what happened. What it does mean is that we don’t consider their contributions to society worthy of a place of adornment in our public squares and parks. When New Orleans made the decision to remove their Confederate monuments, their mayor made a very eloquent speech in which he said,

“The historic record is clear: the Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and P.G.T. Beauregard statues were not erected just to honor these men, but as part of the movement which became known as The Cult of the Lost Cause. This ‘cult’ had one goal — through monuments and through other means — to rewrite history to hide the truth, which is that the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity.”

He continued with:

“Another friend asked me to consider these four monuments from the perspective of an African American mother or father trying to explain to their fifth grade daughter who Robert E. Lee is and why he stands atop of our beautiful city. Can you do it?

Can you look into that young girl’s eyes and convince her that Robert E. Lee is there to encourage her? Do you think she will feel inspired and hopeful by that story? Do these monuments help her see a future with limitless potential? Have you ever thought that if her potential is limited, yours and mine are too?”

If you need any further evidence, why not do a Google search on those who show up to protest the removal of these monuments? Concerning the State’s Rights fantasy, go ahead and read through the secession documents of the Southern States. We think you’ll very easily identify the common theme!

We are not sure if Kirby is really ignorant or just willfully ignorant when it comes to the Civil War and what is happening today. What we do know is that we can’t afford to have someone like this in charge of our county government.

Now, just for laughs, Stephen Colbert has some good suggestions as to what we can do with all these Confederate statues: