Are we today supposed to erase history?
To the Editor:
The Albany mayor is having Revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler’s statue taken down. Sacrificing American Revolutionary history to satisfy her own bigoted ideology and that of her supporters shows her complete lack of understanding of American history.
I was born, in 1928, and raised in Schuylerville, New York — a Revolutionary War Village (1777) and General Schuyler’s home in the 1700s. I and others played in and around the original Schuyler home until it became a historical location.
During the days of Philip Schuyler, George Washington, Robert E. Lee, and many other historical figures, especially revolutionaries, use of slaves was an accepted way of life that became part of our country’s history. Are we to destroy history, to satisfy the ideology of intellectual idiots? Way back when, many historical representatives used employees otherwise known as slaves.
That was then; this is now. Are we today supposed to erase history to satisfy the created feelings of today’s created intellectual idiots? To erase history, good or bad, is educationally stupid.
George Pratt
Altamont
Editor’s note: See editorial.
Too many people fall for this notion that by removing a monument we are "erasing history." Nonsense. Philip Schulyer did many horrendous things and didn't just own slaves, he was a slave trader. We study history in text books, historical fiction, and museums. Monuments are built to honor heroes. Philip Schulyer does not deserve to be honored as a hero.