Having recently returned to Memphis after living in Destin, Fla., I now find that, once again, silly reigns within the City Council. Renaming our historic parks is nothing short of trying to rename history, if not retrace it to our liking.
Obviously, many, if not most, don’t know and don’t care anything about knowing the true story of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s connection and subsequent disconnection with the Ku Klux Klan.
The council’s action, with respect to our history and our park system, is borderline dumb, if not stupid and misinformed.
History is history is history and cannot and should not be changed to suit petty politicians. I am reminded of an attempt, years ago, by the NAACP and others to remove the "N" word from Mark Twain’s "Huckleberry Finn." It was an example of an attempt to change history. At the time of its publication, the "N" word was acceptable language. While it isn’t by today’s standard, it was then. And we, as supposedly intelligent people should understand that.
For God’s sake, let us also attempt to understand that we should make every effort to avoid turning silly into stupid.
Ron Tate
Memphis
