Last weekend more than 40,000 people turned out in full force in Boston to declare their stance against bigotry. This gesture was fitting because Boston is often referred to as "The Cradle of Liberty." Boston played a major role in the start of the American Revolution as well as in the anti-slavery movement close to 100 years later.
Bostonians are a very tough, strong willed of their convictions type of people.
The rally was organized swiftly in response to the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, which consisted of members of the KKK, neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Three innocent people lost their lives because of the protest against the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee.
There is a movement in the U.S. to remove Confederate statues and memorials throughout the country which pertain to a war that ended slavery.
In a survey, 54 per cent of Americans feel the statues should remain, while 27 per cent feel they should be taken down. Republicans were more for the statues to stay while the Democrats generally felt they should be removed.
The Civil War was without question one of the U.S.'s worst wars, based on casualties alone. No single war has ever had so many American lives lost.
It all started when several southern states seceded from the union after the election of Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln had a clear vision to put an end to slavery. Southern states felt it was a violation of their constitutional rights.
Robert E. Lee was the leading Confederate general and is viewed as a hero in the South. In 1868, he received amnesty from the president.
We, as a society, have come a long way in many instances. Slavery was evil and bad. When Trump asked, after the riot, if it is General Robert E. Lee's statue now that is torn down, will George Washington's statue be next?
We should remember that George Washington had slaves and he led a revolution against England.
While we cannot change history, we do not need these reminders of the hate of yesteryear. I would be ill if anyone defamed the Lincoln Memorial or the Jefferson Memorial as well as several others. If you think that this can't happen in Canada, you are wrong.
Many will remember Louis Riel, the Metis leader and Canadian politician who founded the province of Manitoba.
He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first post-Confederation prime minister, John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to preserve Mtis rights and culture as their homelands in the Northwest came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence.
He is a hero to some and a traitor to others.
He was tried for treason, found guilty and hanged.
Yet today, there is a statue depicting him as a dignified statesman in front of the Manitoba Parliament buildings. As well, numerous streets, schools, buildings and neighborhoods are named after him.
The French have similar concerns about Napoleon. Is he a hero or a villain? Again, there are many statues of Napoleon in France and many places bear his name.
Both Canada and France have come to peaceful terms with their "villains" of history. In the U.S., on the other hand, the memories of the Confederacy and the Civil War have not gone away. Instead it has smoldered almost undetected for some time.
Then, along came Donald Trump with his "Make America Great Again" election campaign, a slogan which fits the aspirations of many Americans, including white supremacists, as each group read something else into the slogan. To me and many other Americans, he seems to bring so much hate that just did not appear so prominent before he took office.
It keeps getting worse. When it will end?
