In Baltimore, several statues of Confederate leaders have been removed, including the four taken down on Aug. 16. This act was a blatant disregard for our history and America’s legacy. Before everyone gets up in arms and calls me a Confederate sympathiser, I am not. I’m just a guy who loves history and loves America even more.

The statues that were removed should not have been taken down, especially the statue of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.

His statue coming down was a direct result of his ruling in the Dred Scott case, but he had no connection to the Confederacy at all. The Dred Scott decision was counterproductive, but only served as Taney’s interpretation of the law and not his moral views. Earlier in his life, Taney freed nearly a dozen slaves that were given to him.

If all statues remotely related to racism, the Confederacy, or white supremacy are being torn down, why not go ahead and tear down the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, or Lincoln Memorial? George Washington saw African Americans as inferior, Thomas Jefferson had a harem of slaves, and Lincoln was far from the wholesome abolitionist everybody thought he was.

Lincoln only freed the southern slaves and let the northern states keep theirs. He once said, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it.” He wasn’t a staunch anti-slavery activist like our history textbooks made him out to be. Think about all the monuments dedicated to people important in history who owned slaves or believed African Americans were inferior.

Many of the people who want to take down these statues can be as radical as the extremists who threaten violence to keep them up. I don’t agree with being that fanatical about anything, but it goes to show you that you can’t just say people are crazy white supremacists for wanting to keep these statues up.

Yes, the Confederate States of America were not a good model for building a nation, but keeping these statues up can help remind us all of the past mistakes our country has made and encourage us not to repeat them again. As the saying goes, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Druw Van Der Werff is a Media Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.