The Urge to Destroy is Also a Creative Urge
Written by Neil Levy
Statues are the latest front in our ongoing culture wars. Symbolism (as all sides agree) is not the be all and end all of politics, but it does matter. Those who want the statues to fall argue that they are harmful, because they commemorate racists (and worse) and thereby contribute to making these attitudes, and the exclusion they enable, acceptable. Those who want statues preserved argue that we should learn from history, not attempt to erase it. At most, they say, statues should be framed better, with explanatory plaques that note the misdeeds of the person commemorated and place them in context.Read More »The Urge to Destroy is Also a Creative Urge