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A14 CREDIBLE. COMPELLING. COMPLETE. THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION THURSDAY, OCT. 31, 2013
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Today’s moderator: David Ibata
Inajournalismcareerspanningmorethanthreedecades,DavidIbatahas
writtenaboutpolitics,transportation,urbanplanningandtheenvironment,
andhasbeenanewseditor,deputysuburbanbureauchiefandInternet
producerattheChicagoTribunebeforejoiningtheAJC’sbreakingnews
teamin2007.HewasnamedAssistantEditorialEditorin2012.
TOPIC SCHEDULE
Monday Schools
Tuesday Transportation
Wednesday Regional economy
Thursday Leadership
Friday Qualityoflife
As might be expected in a state with as freighted a history as ours, a plan to move the statue of Thomas
E. Watson — lawmaker, populist, poor folks’ champion, white supremacist and religious demagogue
— from the steps of the state Capitol has prompted wide-ranging reactions. An Anti-Defamation League
official is glad to see the statue go. The CEO of the Atlanta History Center says we should not sanitize
history, but learn from it. To comment, go to: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward
ByShelleyRose
It’s about time.
The imposing — some would
say forbidding — statue of
Thomas E. Watson has stood
at the front entrance of the
Georgia State Capitol since its
unveiling in December 1932
and has withstood numer-
ous efforts to remove it over
the decades. Now, at long last,
Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered
its relocation to a less visible
park across the street from the
Capitol grounds. The Anti-Def-
amation League applauds this
move.
Watson was a powerful
Georgia political leader and
journalist who began his ca-
reer as a populist, arguing
for better living and work-
ing conditions for rural Geor-
gians, black and white. But as
the beginning of the 20th cen-
tury neared, he evolved in-
to a demagogic bully, rallying
Georgians around his fiery de-
nunciations of blacks, Jews
and Catholics.
Watson railed against them
repeatedly in the pages of his
magazine, The Jeffersonian.
He helped revitalize the Ku
Klux Klan and is credited with
organizing its first cross-burn-
ing. He wrote about the “su-
periority of the Aryan” and
stood “squarely for white su-
premacy.”
His anti-Semitic attacks
on Atlanta Jewish business-
man Leo Frank — accused of
the 1913 murder of 13-year-
old Mary Phagan — were so
poisonous that
many believe he
inspired the ha-
tred that led to
Frank’s lynching.
An article pub-
lished in The New
York Times the
day after Frank
was killed report-
ed that Watson’s
writings about Frank “pre-
clude their reproduction in
any respectable newspaper.”
It’s no wonder, then, that
the Watson statue has sparked
so many cries for its removal
from the Capitol.
Some critics of the move ac-
knowledge Watson’s contro-
versial past but argue that it
is problematic to try to erase
our history — good or bad.
They contend that the statue
can serve today as a remind-
er that Georgia’s past does in-
clude a dark side represent-
ed by bigots like Watson. But
the Capitol must represent fair
and equal government for all.
The statue’s current promi-
nent display implicitly endors-
es Watson’s dark side, convey-
ing an official message of ex-
clusion and marginalization to
many Georgians. Such a mes-
sage is simply unacceptable in
the 21st century.
We recognize that moving
the statue from the Capitol
grounds is a symbolic gesture
and would not greatly change
the practical status of race re-
lations in Georgia today. How-
ever, symbols matter. Hav-
ing the Watson statue occu-
py a place of particular honor,
standing at the main entrance
to the Capitol building where
it cannot escape the notice of
thousands of schoolchildren
and others who visit the Capi-
tol every day, sends the wrong
message.
Surely we don’t want to
hold him up as an example of
a great leader in our state’s
history. The statue needs to be
moved to a place where Wat-
son’s historical significance
can be remembered, but his
message of hate and bigot-
ry can be distanced from our
state government.
Ironically, it appears that
the plaque on the Watson stat-
ue will survive its relocation.
It reads, in part, “Honor’s the
path he trod ... a champion
of right who never faltered in
the cause.” Whatever he tried
to accomplish for good early
in his public life, by embrac-
ing bigotry and hatred, Wat-
son chose an eventual path of
dishonor.
Now is the time to show
the people of Georgia that we
are distancing ourselves from
these beliefs. It has been over
90 years since Tom Watson’s
death. It is time to remove his
statue from our state Capitol
grounds.
Shelley Rose is associate director
oftheAnti-Defamation League,
Southeast Region.
Statue move distances Ga.
from Watson controversy
GUEST COLUMN
The statue of Thomas E. Wat-
son stands at the state Capi-
tol. Watson, 1856-1922, was a
political leader and journalist in
Georgia who transformed him-
self into a symbol of bigotry.
Atlanta Forward
What is Atlanta Forward?
Ourregionisanimportantpartofacomplexworld.
Onthesepages,wewillbringyouawidearrayof
viewpointsandinsightsontheissuesyou’vetold
usaremostimportanttoyou.We’recommittedto
bringingyousmartworkbysomeofthebestthinkers
inmetroAtlantaandbeyond.Wewanttoinvolveyou
intheconversation,too,soletusknowwhatyouthink.
THURSDAY CONVERSATION: LEADERSHIP
BySheffieldHale
Putting anyone on a pedes-
tal is a tricky business. Who
we commemorate says just as
much about the culture and
point of view of the majori-
ty in political and econom-
ic power at the time as it does
about the object of veneration
itself. As a monument ages, it
develops a history separate
from its subject, particular-
ly when popular opinions and
perspectives change.
The impulse to remove
monuments as time passes
and perspectives change is
natural. On one hand, a once-
celebrated individual can
come to be regarded negative-
ly in the light of current cul-
ture, opinion and attitudes. It
seems reasonable, therefore,
for those who are personally
offended by that person (and
that belief system) to object to
the community support that
they believe is implicit in leav-
ing the monument in place.
Others may wish to distance
themselves from that past and
prefer that the nuisance sim-
ply be removed, since it pres-
ents an embarrassing remind-
er of some aspect of our col-
lective history. After all, it is
much harder to wave a bloody
shirt after it has been dry-
cleaned.
As natural and
well-intentioned
as these impuls-
es are, I believe
they do not serve
our communi-
ty well. Although
these controver-
sies may serve as
a cautionary tale
for the erection of
new monuments,
once erected, these physical
embodiments of cultural and
political views should be re-
tained for the lessons they can
teach us over time about our-
selves and how we have grown
and changed as a people, a
community and a country.
Preserving such monu-
ments is not the same as im-
plicit support of an ideolo-
gy, but instead, with broad-
er interpretation, should be
viewed as a type of historical
way point that helps us under-
stand our current situation in
relationship to our past.
Inscriptions on monuments
beg for context. Today, mod-
ern technology, such as QR
codes, can direct the observ-
er to a broader historical and
cultural context of the monu-
ment. This modern technolo-
gy and its interpretive author-
ity can be updated, provid-
ing evolving perspectives over
time.
The great story of this na-
tion is not that we have always
been enlightened by current
standards, but that we have
evolved in our treatment and
acceptance of one another. An
honest examination of our his-
tory requires us to confront a
painful, ambiguous past — an
examination that for many is
difficult, challenging and dis-
tressing. That examination
can also be provocative, stim-
ulating and inspiring.
We cannot change our his-
tory. But, we can learn from it.
Controversial history should
not be sanitized. Instead, this
is an opportunity to address
the underlying issues that of-
ten divide us. Rather than cen-
soring the past, let us bridge
the divide and use the chang-
ing interpretation of history
to open ourselves to perspec-
tives that can allow all of us to
learn from our past and create
a better Atlanta. The past has
much to teach us about who
we are, and where we are — if
we let it.
Sheffield Hale is president and
CEO oftheAtlanta History Center.
We can learn from history
GUEST COLUMN
Scan the QR code to go to the
Thomas E. Watson entry in the
New Georgia Encyclopedia, an
online program of the Georgia
Humanities Council, in partner-
ship with the University of Geor-
gia Press, the University System
of Georgia/GALILEO and the
Office of the Governor.
»Jointhediscussiontoday:Shareyouropinions and ideas at
blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/.
Shelley
Rose
Sheffield
Hale
Controversial
history should
not be sanitized.
Instead, this is
an opportunity
to address the
underlying
issues that
often divide us.
The statue
needs to move
to a place where
his historical
significance can
be remembered,
but his message
of hate can
be distanced
from our state
government.
READERS WRITE
FEDERAL FINANCES
Economist apparently
has no fear of debt
Regarding “Pay no heed to
prophets of a financial apoc-
alypse” (Opinion, Oct. 26),
Paul Krugman seems to say
the U.S. can spend as much as
it wants; borrow as much as it
wants; print money endlessly,
and there should be no wor-
ry about the debt. I’m so re-
lieved. So, what’s all the fuss
about the debt?
Plus — if it’s good enough for
Uncle Sam, it’s good enough
for me, right? I can spend
as much as I want, not bud-
get, and not worry about how
much debt I am in. Thanks,
Paul Krugman!
PAT MURPHY, FAYETTEVILLE
GOVERNANCE
Here’s a way to give
teeth to ethics panel
Enough already, with letting
the politicians run Georgia’s
ethics commission.
We should set up the com-
mission with five retirees as
commissioners. They would
not have any connection with
political parties, and have no
involvement with, or income
from, vendors that do (or want
to do) business with the state
or any other political entity
within the state. Another re-
quirement would be that their
income would be from sourc-
es like Social Security, mutu-
al funds, federal bonds and
blind trusts — with no consul-
tant fees. They would have to
be willing to work for mileage
and per diem meal expenses.
They would have the fi-
nal word, by majority vote,
on guilt or innocence regard-
ing complaints brought be-
fore them. Fines for noncom-
pliance with ethics rules, de-
termined by the Legislature,
would be collected before the
guilty party would be allowed
to participate in any political
activity. The agency respon-
sible for collection of fines
would be determined prior to
commencement of commis-
sion activity. The group would
also have a secretary and two
investigators, certified and
bonded, that they chose.
BOB DRUKTANIS, SHARPSBURG
HEALTH CARE
‘Wasteful’ coverage is
just part of insurance
Jerry Ellig’s recent take on
the ACA as “wasteful” in cov-
ering things not everyone is
asking for is missing the point
(“ACA works by giving what
you don’t want,” Opinion,
Oct. 28).
Every insurance plan, re-
gardless of property cov-
ered (including policies for
your body) includes cover-
age for things you may nev-
er use, never asked for, and/
or don’t want. What it does do
for me as a taxpayer, howev-
er, is to help share the load of
those not insured with those
who are paying to be insured.
The ACA will help move health
care from emergency care and
bandages to the full spectrum
of preventative care, and to
higher-quality outcomes.
I would ask the Mercatus
Center, which market solution
offers real freedom and pros-
perity?
PATRICK THOMPSON, WOODSTOCK
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