Many people seem to be advocating the destruction, removal or relocation of Confederate monuments. I understand why, but we need to be careful of using 21st-century vision to judge the past and remove its history.

Let’s play a game using our 21st-century eyes to judge and destroy history. What will follow is a list of questions. If any president of the United States receives a yes answer to any of these questions, his monuments must be destroyed, removed or relocated.

Here we go:

• Did the president own any slaves?

• Did the president serve during a time when Native Americans were removed to reservations?

• Did the president support big business at the expense of the American worker?

• Did the president serve during a time when there were no child labor laws?

• Did the president serve during a time when women could not vote?

• Did the president believe that marriage was defined as a union between one man and one woman?

• Did the president cheat on his wife?

• Did the president eat meat?

Do you get where I am going? I could go on and on with this.

What may be really interesting is how the eyes of 22nd-century people will judge our history. I don’t know; I don’t plan to be here.

— Gordon Correll

Salisbury