Blog Stage 3

Jerry Patterson, a former Texas state senator, reveals his feelings about the movement to tear down memorials and specifically statues of historical figures who don't necessarily promote a positive ideal. In this article posted on bigjolly.com, he focuses in on Abraham Lincoln and more specifically monuments and streets attributed to his honor and some interesting quotes that seem to directly contradict the image that we have of Lincoln. As liberal as I tend to consider myself, I think it is important to have a flexible opinion when presented with new information. I was not aware that Lincoln was not completely in favor of creating equality among all men and did have a prejudice view of black people.

Although we of course know this is wrong today, they were living in a different world then and to even be as progressive as Lincoln was was enough to create change. That’s where I tend to disagree with Mr. Patterson. Although Patterson does bring up a really interesting argument that maybe we should pay a little closer attention to those we consider “heroes”, as many were slave owners. I think in some ways it’s even better to see someone change and go from being a part of the problem to creating some sort of solution. Far be it from perfect but Lincoln had a lasting impact on the U.S. for the better and that is deserved of being recognized. I don’t think we should ignore his prejudice, but use it to teach the future generations that change is good and we should be willing to change in order to better ourselves and the lives of those around us.