Confederate Statues Research Paper

The issue over removing Confederate statues has sparked many debates and emotions throughout the U.S. Hate speech stirs emotions, so do these statues. This made me think of the debate over if hate speech is protected by the freedom of speech. Hate speech is a terrible thing. But, it needs to be protected. People should have the ability to say whatever they want as long it is not threatening. This made it difficult for me to want the statues torn down. But, these statues are more than hate speech they are the refusal to let go of what happened, who lost, and who won in the past. It took far too long in my opinion for Americans to learn that slavery was a despicable thing. I want all Americans to learn something from this debate-what does it say that some Americans still ride with Confederate flags 150 plus years after the Union won? …show more content…
Every American must accept that we all live in the U.S. and we what makes us so special is that we are a melting pot of the world. Even Robert E. Lee said that the war is over and there should be no honoring of Confederate anything; the Union won and it is the Union we must honor. So, I came to the conclusion that I believe the statues should be torn down (except if in a Confederate cemetery). But, I would like to add something-many believe we learn something from statues and I hope that is true, but I know many just glance. Maybe in the place where the statue stood there should be a sign that says what was once here, the history of that person/event, and why it was removed. Basically, I want a plaque that says we learned something. It is now taking us far too long to realize we cannot change the