After 100 Years, Robert E. Lee Statue is Removed from the U.S. Capitol

Well, in a year where even Aunt Jemima was canceled, we suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that Robert E. Lee didn’t survive. This week, a statue of the Confederate general, which has stood proudly next to George Washington for more than 100 years, was quietly removed from the U.S. Capitol. The statue was Virginia’s contribution to the National Statuary Hall Collection; the state’s Democrat officials are now planning to replace Lee’s likeness with a statue celebrating civil rights activist Barbara Johns.

“We should all be proud of this important step forward for our Commonwealth and our country,” said Gov. Ralph Northam. “The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion. I look forward to seeing a trailblazing young woman of color represent Virginia in the U.S. Capitol, where visitors will learn about Barbara Johns’ contributions to America and be empowered to create positive change in their communities just like she did.”

The decision to remove the statue was met with praise from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

“The Congress will continue our work to rid the Capitol of homages to hate, as we fight to end the scourge of racism in our country,” she said in a statement. “There is no room for celebrating the bigotry of the Confederacy in the Capitol or any other place of honor in our country.”

Right. There was only room for that for 100 YEARS, but not a single moment longer. Like, are you kidding? Are you telling us, Nancy, that you walked by that statue of Robert E. Lee every day for the many years you’ve been in Congress, and every day you knew in your bones that this was a monument to bigotry and racism? Get real. It was a monument to a great man – a patriot, in fact – who fought for a cause he believed was just: The rights of Southern states to determine their own destiny.

We don’t have to like every aspect of that cause to appreciate that Robert E. Lee is a man to be remembered. This was a concept we seemed to collectively understand the day before yesterday. For as much as liberals like to believe that they have a monopoly on viewing history through a lens of nuance and subtle details, they certainly do seem intent on taking us back to a black/white, simplistic way of contemplating history’s “heroes” and “villains.”