They took down “Marse Robert” from the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Even though it’d been there for over 100 years, the statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee came down overnight Sunday to no fanfare, no whoops from the woke crowd. The only people to observe its removal were Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), VA Rep. Jennifer Wexton, and a representative from VA Gov. Ralph Northam’s office.

On the opposite side of the country, in California, Nancy Pelosi cheered the removal of the Lee statue in a statement:

“The Congress will continue our work to rid the Capitol of homages to hate, as we fight to end the scourge of racism in our country. There is no room for celebrating the bigotry of the Confederacy in the Capitol or any other place of honor in our country.”

Meanwhile, Ralph Northam himself called the removal “an important step forward for our Commonwealth and our country.” So he proposed to replace Lee with a statue of Barbara Johns, who as a 16-year-old led protests against segregated schools in Virginia in 1951.

Or maybe Northam is using that as penance for the infamous blackface image from his college years. For the record, some have determined that Northam was portraying Michael Jackson, and not Klan Guy. It took some sleuthing to figure it out since Northam seems to have forgotten these hijinks. Imagine that.

https://twitter.com/jmhowardiv/status/1341025217259442177?s=20

Now I don’t have any problem with honoring Barbara Johns for her contribution to civil rights. In fact, her actions predated the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954 which made segregation in public schools illegal. Plus, since she was merely a teenager, it took a lot of fortitude on her part. So my hat is off to her for that.

Barbara Johns Memorial in Richmond, VA. Travis/flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0.

But just who decided to remove the Robert E. Lee statue, since this was not a unilateral decision on the part of Northam?

It turns out that a “Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol” made that unanimous decision on December 16. Let’s look at the composition of that Commission, shall we?

First, there is a member from the VA House of Delegates, whom the Speaker appointed. That speaker is Eileen Filler-Corn, a Democrat.

Next, a member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Of the 15 members of this committee, only three are Republicans.

Plus, there are two historians whom Northam appointed.

Then there are three citizen members — voted in by Commission members appointed by the (D) Speaker, the Committee on Rules, and the Governor.

Finally, the head of the Commission was State Sen. Louise Lucas (D), who is also a member of the Rules committee.

Are you seeing a pattern here? I wonder if any of these vaunted Commission members consulted supporters of the Robert E. Lee statue, or descendants of the Confederacy, or historians who admire the Southern general. Probably not.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they concurred with Robert Wright Lee IV, a nephew of Lee, who testified before Congress in July that statues of his famous ancestor should be removed. Although he did admit that not everyone in his family felt the same way he did.

But Virginia has another figure standing in Statuary Hall which they may have to deal with: a statue of George Washington, the nation’s first President and the “Father of Our Nation.” And yes, there are shrill voices crying out to tear down his monuments, too. These include not only media members, but also Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who had been on Biden’s short list for Vice President.

Frankly, I’m neutral about Robert E. Lee. Yes, he owned slaves, yet was also a man of honor, from what I know about him. But I grew up in northwest Indiana, near Chicago, so I don’t “get” Southern pride, although I acknowledge that rich Southern heritage. Moreover, my ancestors who were in the United States during the Civil War (most weren’t) were from Pennsylvania by way of Massachusetts. A few had come from Northern Ireland. So I’m no Daughter of the Confederacy.

But I also know that once you remove a statue on social justice grounds, the demands still don’t end. If all Confederate-related statues came down from high places, do you think this nonsense would stop? No, leftist activists would go after the memory of even more great Americans who fail their demands of perfection. And lookee here: San Francisco may rename Abraham Lincoln High School since the Great Emancipator didn’t think black lives or Native Americans mattered much, apparently.

So this northern Midwestern girl wants to keep these men honored, even if I don’t agree with what they stood for. They are my nation’s history. My Christian faith also teaches that all are sinners, and as such we should forgive others their transgressions. However, for those who worship the new faith of social justice there is no forgiveness. There is only punishment. And the annihilation of historical figures who don’t fit their standards will never, ever stop.

Featured image: Wayne Karberg/Library of Congress/flickr/cropped/public domain.