Racial magic: making George Washington vanish
Some things on the South Carolina statehouse grounds are worthy of criticism, including the display of the Confederate stars and bars. But a historic statue of George Washington isn’t one of them. Yesterday I posted about the lunacy inside the DOJ that refuses to hold an office “picnic” because the word is considered racially insensitive. At the Martin Luther King Day, Jr., commemoration in Columbia this year, this photo was taken. George was put in a box:
Normally the dying dead trees media is tasked with the job of reporting such disdain of American icons, but the local paper in Columbia is owned by McClatchy, so no need to embarrass the lunacy of the event organizers. This statue is a rare replica of the Houdon statue which was a lifesized replica of the American father sculpted with Washington present and from a life mask. This version was damaged in the Civil War and I used to pass it every day. Never once could I imagine an America where it would become an object of scorn or shame.
I’m not exactly an expert on Martin L. King, but I can’t help feeling that he would have been deeply embarrassed by this idiocy.
I love it when people say what they mean and back it up with actions.
If they did it more, the world would be a far better place.
The biggest problem of all is when they spend 95% of their time hiding their intentions; like Obama.
Washington was most definitely not present when the original was sculpted in France, and I’m not certain that the replica is exactly “rare,” since thirty-two other bronze and plaster replicas were cast prior to 1910. I have no information regarding how many copies may have been made without casting from the original, but I would not be surprised to find that there have been a good number. A particularly fine bronze is in the new Educational Center at Mount Vernon.
Furthermore, the flag shown in your link is not the Stars and Bars. It is the Battle Flag, also sometimes known as the Soldiers’ Flag. The Stars and Bars refers to the First National Flag, which you can see here: http://www.usflag.org/history/confederatestarsandbars.html
I realize that the internet is a medium in which speed is important, but so is accuracy. Do better, please, and don’t diminish the very considerable value of your contribution by carelessness with the facts.
The statute in South Carolina is rare because it was made from the orginal casting. I consider those orginial castings scattered in various states to be rare. Perhaps (Col.?) Bragg can post the information as to how this particular, and indeed rare, rendition was damaged in the Civil War.
Washington indeed participated in the production of the sculpture. From the linked website:
“Houdon insisted upon coming to America to study Washington himself. He left France in July 1785 and arrived October 2 at Mount Vernon for a two-week stay. During the visit, he modeled a terra-cotta bust of Washington, made a life mask, and took measurements of his body. Washington was apparently intrigued by the artist’s activities and recorded them in his diary. On October 17, 1785, Houdon left the plantation with a plaster mold of the bust, the mask, and notes.”
I’ll not quible whether Washington was “present” when it was sculpted, given that the life mask was used for the work and he was measured by the sculptor and studied. Let others decide whether that was inaccurate or not, or whether such a tidbit overshadows the bigger story in the story.
And as to whether or not the Confederate flag in the photo is indeed the “stars and bars,” I defer to others who follow things Confederate far more than I do. I know that crowd too well to tangle. You might get a unit deployment wrong at a particular battle and they’ll never forgive you for it.
I agree with your RM Bragg. You should go check your facts before posting. Having grown up in SC and hearing the story of the GW statue many times, it is most definitely rare and precious for its creation and siginicance in the civil war. And the issue here is a respected civi right group found it necessary to cover up the father of our country during a celebration of another very important American. This is an outrage.
Sorry…nothing wrong with the Stars and Bars. Get over it.
No george washington= no succesfull american revolution=as many as five nations in north america where the us is, french canada, an english commonwealth along the atlantic, french louisiana, mexico extending to the colorado river basin an english canada from vancouver to onterio and a russian province in alaska. All would have endef slavery far sooner and less bloodily than otherwise. No successful revolution delays the financial, political andphilosophical pressures on France, delaying and perhaps gradualizing their revolution. No french revolution, no Naoleon for prussia to eventually defeat, less confidence for them to be the unifier of Germany, no fiest world war, no nazism no communism, the possibilites are endless
Unfortunately, were are stuck with the history we have. Blocking Washington demonstrates the supficial understanding of History and undercut the legitmacy of any arguement or issue put forward by these folks, considering it is only through his very real and personal sacrifices that those folks in the photo have the right to gather and reflect in the first place. I weep for the products of the american public education system
Hmmmmm
Maybe the world would have been better without washington after all. Lesson: dont try to change the world
No Washington = no successful revolution. True. Then you go way off the rails.
No successful revolution means England remains the world’s dominant power, and the colonies remain in their own form of bondage. Blacks would still be in bondage, because all would be in bondage. England’s King was a tyrant. There is no freedom under a tyrant.
Without this freedom, there would not have been the incredible wealth and advances brought about by the US. No one is so generous as us. To think the world might have been better without the US is to be ignorant of the history of the US and the blessing she is to the whole world.
To think that certain events would have been precluded is ridiculous. There would have been other equally bad events, with no America to stop them. Do you honestly think Marx or Hitler would not have worked their evils upon the world?
Your so-called knowledge of history is lacking the most dynamic, the most important, piece of history… the history of the US and all the good we have brought to this world. We may be flawed, but others are far more flawed. We are the best thing going.
I wonder how many of those folks in that photo would have refused absolute power in the united people came together and demanded they take it?
In all of recorded western history we find only two men that have
Cincinatus
Washington
Truly a remarkable man
And Jesus, who retired from the field when the people attempted to make him king by means of force (against the Romans and Herodians, as in chapter 67 of the Gospel of John). I would also say that Jesus’ example led directly to Washington’s remarkable humility and selflessness.
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The Stars and Bars thing is a common mistake, so common it’s almost not a mistake any more. Sort of like calling one of those animals that used to wander the American plains a buffalo, when they’re really *bison*. Most Civil War buffs know the difference, but most everyone else doesn’t, and makes the same mistake the author did. It’s sort of like a litmus test: get this one right and you’re a Civil War buff.
As for the statue itself being boxed like this, I’m sure the organizers would say something along the lines of it would distract from the celebrations. If you could hypnotize them and get at their true sentiments, they would probably run along the lines of “he owned slaves”. The world is simple for some people; unfortunately, history usually isn’t.
The confusion between “statute” and “statue” is a little distracting.
” Never once could I imagine an America where it would become an object of scorn or shame.”
After 40+ years of the hatred of Amerikka by the Left, I would think you would have a better imagination. It doesn’t take much to image what comes next.
Mr. Adams;
We’ll have to agree to disagree on both counts. There is nothing at all wrong with the display of the Confederate Battle Flag on the South Carolina State House grounds.
You may not LIKE our history, but moral honesty demands that it not be airbrushed away and edited by latter-day partisans for latter-day political purposes.
What your post did not mention is that this event was a meeting of the South Carolina NAACP.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/19/naacp-draws-complaints-covering-george-washington-statue-mlk-day/
I personally consider the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to be a racist organization by its very name and function, and therefore I approve of their actions in this.
George Washington’s image should not be sullied by any sort of association with a racist pressure group…of ANY color.
Oh, but to Lefties and their “Fellow Travelers,” Washington is a dead, privileged White man who deserves nothing but scorn and abuse by the “diverse people of color.”
I wish I were kidding, but I have actually heard a few people say this manner of thing.