There has been a lot of attention in the media recently regarding the call to remove statues and monuments that are tied to a controversial public figure. In the United States, Confederate statues are coming down, and in Canada, the debate has begun over the legacy of people.
These monuments become controversial when public opinion and historical context changes around them. However, it is important that these memorials should remain intact to deepen education and even bridge divides. By removing the memorials, or renaming buildings and streets, all we are doing is ‘sweeping’ the past under a big carpet.
Almost every community has streets, buildings or monuments named after public figures that were important to their past. They are named after ‘founding fathers and mothers’ of our communities.
Unfortunately, it would be all too easy to find a controversial fact about any of these public figures, simply because the public opinion of their time was much different than what it is now. It is simply unfair to judge the people of the past based on the ethics and social views of the present.
It would be unwise to spend billions of dollars to rename every building or remove every monument that is named after a controversial public figure, especially when that money could go to a better use. Funding could be used to support much-needed infrastructure projects in many Canadian communities.
Besides, the removal of a statue, or renaming a building does not change what happened in the past. It does not change our history. While it is good that people are starting to debate and shine a light on darker aspects of Canada’s history, there are better ways to reflect on our past.
Instead of destroying these statues or renaming public buildings, they should remain as they are and there could be increased education about the public figure, why they are being remembered, and all contextual information to help people understand, interpret and learn from the past.
Memorials should remain up in order to teach visitors about the past, provided they tell the full story about that point in time. This is the only way that we can truly reflect on the past, the impacts that were made to our communities, and how much we have changed over time.
As a society, if we want to continue to improve ourselves it is important that we have a full understanding of our past, and the people and events that have come before ourselves.
The only way for history to not repeat itself is for us to learn from our mistakes, to see the past for both the good and the bad events, and strive towards a better future for all Canadians.
