The removal of the monuments may reduce pressure on city governments by temporarily quieting racial anger. But it will not make the two races less divided or less prejudiced. It will not improve the worldly lot of any black person or any other person. What we are up against is an extractive economy run by a tiny minority of the wealthiest people, and, from that, the impoverishment, pollution, and poisoning of the natural world, the disintegration of all human communities, and the ill health of individuals and families. Compared to these real and pressing problems that belong to us all, the removal of statues and other works of art is easy. The dead are ideal enemies. Opposing the dead is the most expedient route to virtue for public officials, as well as a perfect distraction from the problems that are present, urgent, and difficult.
Wendell Berry, The Need To Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice, 181.