Tearing down the old monuments only expresses displeasure in the ideas associated with them. It does not articulate the basis of the displeasure. It is simply the angry squeal of a brute. We are not Taliban. We are not brutes. We need to do better. We need to articulate the basis of our opposition to the ideas associated with the old monuments.
How?
Error illuminates truth. The Crucifixion illuminated the reality that God loves us dearly. The old monuments serve as a foil for the new monuments. Only when we build new and better monuments, do we articulate the reasons for our disagreement - do we provide the foundation on which our disagreement is based. Only when we build new and better monuments can the world compare the old and the new and arrive at their own conclusions about whether the constellation of ideas that orbits a monument is superior or inferior. A declaration of disagreement has absolutely no persuasive force. The persuasive force belongs not to the declaration but to the foundation of the disagreement. Only the foundation persuades. Foundations are expressed only by building new monuments - not by destroying old monuments.
How can the past be embarrassed by its beliefs if we erase the past’s beliefs?
We are rational creatures able and willing to compete in the marketplace of ideas. Tearing down the old monuments, however, makes us look like Taliban - makes us look like brutes. It is not a reputation that we want to acquire.
