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Minister-Political Analyst says Take Down the Monuments to End Distraction

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“I do think the time has come for us to take the Confederate monuments and the relics of the Confederacy, move those into museums and into historical parks,  places where people (who) want to see them can see them, but those who feel they’re symbols of hatred don’t have to be confronted with them,” Jackson said. 
 

He believes the uproar over the monuments is just a distraction.

“Violence in our inner cities, the poor education that many of our children are receiving, and the need to come together around some common cause for our country as opposed to being torn apart,” were a few he named. “I live in Virginia,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve been to Richmond, I’ve been to Charlottesville, I’ve gone past Confederate monuments, never gave them a second thought to be very honest.”

Jackson says they need to be removed because they’ve become a flashpoint for racial division.

“We don’t need… (for) white supremacists to come stir people, or for that matter, for leftist militants and extremists to come and confront them and create a problem that then engulfs the entire nation,” said Jackson.

Jackson believes it’s time to act, but it’s vital history isn’t erased.

“The time has come, yes, to put them (the monuments) somewhere where we recognize history, but we don’t have to put it in the face of those who really don’t want to see it, or may want to use it for their political plans,” he said.

Jackson says other historical figures who are criticized because they owned slaves, namely Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison, should still be honored because of their contribution to America – specifically the Constitution.

“They brought together a nation,” said Jackson. “The Confederacy was a different historical event. It threatened to tear the nation apart, our Founding Fathers sought to bring the nation together.”

He says founders who were also slaveholders should not be condemned by history.

“I think they’re heroes, they’re flawed, they were imperfect people, but they should be honored as an important part of our history,” he also said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have a country.”

Jackson believes the average American wants to get past the “racial statement” and “racializing of everything.”

“I think most Americans… want to get on with living together, working together, and trying to build a better future for our country,” said Jackson.

He also thinks the Church has a key role to play.

“The Church is a repository of truth,” he said. “The Church should be saying to America, ‘we got to get beyond merely tolerating one another. We got to love one another.’”

“That’s what Jesus taught us,” Jackson added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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