Preserving Columbus statue would show we value diversity of thought (Your Letters) – syracuse.com

To the Editor:

I was surprised to see throughout our city many posters with a particularly interesting message containing two demands. The first one was to celebrate diversity; he second, to replace the Columbus statue. But how can we celebrate diversity by removing a preeminent symbol of diversity?

The Syracuse Columbus statue was paid for with the donations of Italian immigrants; people who risked their lives coming to America in filthy hulls of ships, escaping from an economic crisis. And exactly as other minority groups at the time, they were segregated not de jure but de facto fiercely criticized by the press, and subjected to all kinds of humiliations and discriminations. It should not be difficult to understand that those who paid for the Columbus statue were not thinking about the flaws in the life of the explorer, but in the values that he embodied to their community. For Italians, Columbus was a reason to be proud of their identity, and a symbol of their bravery and success in a hostile new land. And anyone who is an immigrant me included can easily relate to this.

But even if you think that Columbus and 99% of the people of his time were sadistic maniacs that enslaved or slaughtered people for pleasure, you should still be in favor of keeping the statue. Why? Because it is, like it or not, a piece of well-preserved evidence of our citys multicultural past. What could be more diverse in essence, than respecting what constituted the heritage of older generations? And what is the price we pay to keep that heritage? I do not think that the discomfort of a small sector of the population is reason enough to deny our cultural legacy. Moreover, being willing to preserve a statue of a controversial figure in the center of our city speaks volumes about our commitment to diversity and liberal values. It states that we accept different points of view, or that at least we are open to debate. However, if we ask for its removal, we deliberately exclude a manifestation of that diversity that we seek to protect.

At this point, its relevant to ask ourselves what portion of the concept of diversity we are trying to embrace. Since diversity is such a broad term going far beyond racial issues it would be a huge mistake to consciously choose its racial over ideological implication. Doing so would make us hypocrites regarding an important human value, because any kind of inclusionary diversity that can be achieved in a free society is the result of diversity of thought. That diversity (of thought, ideologies, ideas, political views and worldviews) that the statue of Columbus represents especially today should not be abandoned to fit in with the fashionable narrative. In the short term (the one that worries most politicians) those who have blindly consumed this narrative will applaud the cancelers of Columbus for their apparent courage and historical empathy, but in the long term (the one that should concern us, citizens) this will leave a terrible precedent: the imposition of an absolute vision of the world from one political spectrum on another.

Unfortunately, the citys debate over the statue has gotten too political when it shouldnt have. Although our biased media outlets have tried to sell it to us in this way, it is not about empowering a marginalized community by removing the stigma of their oppression. Its not even about Columbus. It is about politicians taking advantage of the pain of a community and censoring the voice of another community to paint themselves as social justice warriors; and it is also about the willingness of the public to either acknowledge or conceal a part of history that our modern standards consider politically incorrect.

We can defend the rights of those who need it, and at the same time understand that we are doing no good by filtering our past for future generations. Whether or not we want to praise some historical figures in textbooks is one thing, but wanting to erase any trace of them is another. In fact, it is the liberals and not the conservatives who should be advocating for the preservation of the Columbus statue. Being liberal does not mean believing as absolute truth everything that is fashionable to say for leftist celebrities, or joining the current trend on social networks because it flirts with certain terms that sound pleasant to the ear. It means siding with individual freedom, and being open and tolerant of our differences, rather than accepting preconceived values imposed on us by religious or governmental authorities.

The best, most inclusive and truly liberal solution would be to raise funds for the Indigenous people to erect their own statue in a central location of the city. Only in this way would we recognize the relevance of both the Italian and Native American communities without the need to underestimate the heritage of one or the other.

Justo Antonio Triana

Syracuse

Related: Crowd gathers at Syracuse courthouse to hear arguments in Columbus monument case

Read the original here:
Preserving Columbus statue would show we value diversity of thought (Your Letters) - syracuse.com