I recently saw a great opinion piece in the Hill by Donald Smith, arguing in favor of the decision to restore the Confederate monument at Arlington National Cemetery. Smith presents evidence that the “Naming Commission” that committed this despicable action did not actually have the backing of the American people. Although this may very well be true, in my opinion, this isn’t really relevant to the fact that removing the monument was wrong. So while I appreciate this opinion piece and Smith’s courage in speaking out in favor of the monument, my reasoning for opposing the monument’s removal is a bit different.
“By ordering the monument back, Hegseth is subverting Congress and the will of the American people,” said Ty Seidule, the intolerant bigot who served as the vice-chair of the “Naming Commission.” This may be true, and it also may be false, as Smith argues in his opinion piece. But the truth is that ordering the monument back is the right thing to do, regardless of the desires of Congress or the American people. This is because removing statues and monuments is objectively wrong, regardless of how many people support it. If undoing a horrifying, repugnant, and disgraceful atrocity constitutes subverting Congress and the will of the American people, then Congress and the American people deserve to have their will subverted.
In 2024, members of the “Naming Commission” stated that by passing the 2021 NDAA, which contained the provision to create the commission, “bipartisan supermajorities of 81 senators and 322 representatives declared it was time to try to end Confederate commemorations.” Smith argues that this wasn’t really the case, because the creation of the commission was merely one small part of the NDAA, which is a huge bill, and voting in favor of the bill itself doesn’t necessarily mean that one supports that particular part. This argument may be right, but more importantly, ending Confederate commemorations is objectively immoral. Ending Confederate commemorations inflicts horrific and unbearable pain on innocent people, destroys everything that makes life worth living, and sends the message that people who are different from the norm should not be allowed to exist. Merely reading the words “try to end Confederate commemorations” make me feel physically sick. The thought that anyone would even remotely support this is absolutely disgusting. Therefore, ending Confederate commemorations is morally wrong, regardless of how senators and representatives feel about it.
And in the commission’s final report, they state, “in passing the 2021 William M. ‘Mac” Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act, the United States Congress determined that Confederates and the Confederacy no longer warrant commemoration through Department of Defense assets.” Except that Confederates and the Confederacy do warrant commemoration. Because people who are different from the norm deserve to feel included, represented, and reflected in public art. We deserve to have lives that are worth living. We deserve to feel that we are allowed to exist. And without commemoration of Confederates and the Confederacy, none of these things are the case. Therefore, Confederates and the Confederacy do warrant commemoration. This is objectively true, regardless of what the U.S. Congress, or anyone for that matter, believes. Even if the U.S. Congress did actually determine that Confederates and the Confederacy no longer warrant commemoration, the only thing this signifies is that the U.S. Congress is wrong.
Seidule alleges that the Arlington monument “clearly commemorates the Confederacy and its purpose – chattel slavery.” First of all, I don’t get why it has become so popular over the last few years to call slavery, “chattel slavery.” Why not just call it slavery? Second, slavey was not the purpose of the Confederacy. Seceding from the U.S. and forming an independent country was. That’s why the Confederacy symbolizes rebellion, defiance, fighting back against authority, and being different. Third, yes, the monument clearly commemorates the Confederacy. And this is bad, how? That’s right. It isn’t.
Removing Confederate monuments is objectively morally wrong, because it inflicts severe pain on innocent people, destroys everything that makes life worth living, and is a statement that people who are different from the norm should be obliterated from existence. The actions of the “Naming Commission” would be immoral even if they had the popular mandate that they claim to have. Removing Confederate monuments would be the wrong thing to do, and putting monuments back up would be the right thing to do, even if every single person in the U.S. and every single member of Congress felt otherwise. What is wrong is wrong, and what is right is right, regardless of the wishes, thoughts, feelings of the American people and their representatives.