By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--August 18, 2017
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A longstanding national debate over Confederate statues, street names and other markers intensified this week following deadly clashes between white supremacist groups and counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Va. One woman was killed during the weekend mayhem, while two police officers died in a helicopter crash related to the incident. Following the violence, communities across the country made new plans and accelerated existing efforts to remove statues celebrating Confederate leaders, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. A handful of monuments have already come down in places like North Carolina and Florida, while others are expected to be removed shortly. Some view Confederate statues as painful reminders of one of America's darkest periods, when the nation was engulfed in a bloody civil war and slavery was the law of the land in many states. But others view their removal as an affront to history.There are days when I think we have ceased to be a serious country, completely incapable of distinguishing the serious from the frivolous. Then every so often the country does something to make me think I've judged it too harshly. Like come together after 9/11. Or not elect Hillary. Today? I'm firmly in the ceased-to-be-serious camp. We've got cities taking down statues in the dead of night. We've got sports teams offering to pay for statue removal. You'd think it had been discovered that the statues cause Mad Cow Disease, and that removing them is the only conceivble cure. But no. It's just this week's media frenzy of the moment.
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