Here's What Removing Traditional Statues Really Means For Society

     (Written 5-29-18)  As the spirit of the awakening moves throughout the world, our individual and collective awareness will continue to deepen. This movement causes a stirring that brings up a lot of our past experiences, so that we may look at them with a new perspective. In order for us to heal and move forward in a different and healthier way we have to first be willing to look at the past and see where we were responsible for not showing up as our best, and how that contributed to a situation. The deepest truth is that we are all one. We all come from the singular consciousness that is God, Universe or Source; but too often we choose not to live up to this truth, instead we lean on things like race, class, religion, gender and nation. All these are important qualities no doubt, but are only a piece of the whole puzzle.

     One of the most pressing issues for the citizens of the United States right now is the issue of race. Whether it be the murders of black people by the hands of police, gentrification, white supremacist rallies, or the debate about and removal of statues; all these issues polarize the country to the point where we have seen terrible violence where everyone loses. It is the debate and removal of statues that is most interesting to me because it seems to be closer to the base of the race issue and shows where we are in our growth. With the madness surrounding the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, and more recently the relocation of the J. Marion Sims statue in NYC, there is a great divide on what the statues mean and if they should stay.

     While many say that the statues are a symbol of history that should be respected, honored and maintained, a closer look will show that this isn’t truly the case. Throughout history statues have been used and are still used as a show of power of the current regime. They stand to say “this is what we believe in now”, and as long as the statues remain, all who see these representations have an understanding of what the current power structure believes. This is why when regime changes occurred the first things to go were the statues. The removal or destruction of statues showed a shift in power and perspective. This is the reality of what is happening now; a dissonance between the old regime and the new incoming consciousness that is waking people up. None of us can change the past, but we must all understand it, and see it for what it is. What are we choosing to honor as a collective? People always throw away old furniture, clothes and whatever else when they have outgrown them. Our collective awareness is growing and we are seeing what no longer speaks accurately to where we are in our growth. What are the symbols of the new consciousness? We have to all get together and figure that out. Times are changing and as a result so will the laws, the education system, the definitions about race-gender-power, and statues we choose to erect as a symbol of the times.

      These dark changing times show we are on our way to brighter days. We all have to think and feel deeply about what it is we stand for and why. The only way to move forward is together, and although the path has its very frustrating, hurtful, and depressing moments, the other side is equity, joy and liberation. We are on our way. Life is about phases, and everything that is built up, eventually all falls down.