Restoring Arlington's Reconciliation Monument: A Path to Unity
The restoration of a monument in Arlington Cemetery may serve as the spiritual portal that brings America back to its origin in greatness.
The restoration of a monument in Arlington Cemetery may serve as the spiritual portal that brings America back to its origin in greatness.
The attack on normalcy, traditions, and history in America intensified in 2020 with Covid-19 lockdowns and the riots catalyzed by the death of George Floyd. When destruction then turned under the Congressional Naming Commission to the icons associated with the Confederacy of the Civil War period, the Reconciliation Monument in Arlington Cemetery came into the crosshairs. It was removed from Arlington on Dec. 16, 2023, despite longstanding traditions and laws against desecrating gravesites. The Reconciliation Monument was the last work of the sculptor Moses Ezekiel, and he chose the monument’s location as his burial ground, making the monument his headstone.
Now with the Trump administration’s priority to revive Americans’ appreciation of their heritage, this somewhat obscure monument is in the spotlight. And for good reason, because the Reconciliation Monument can serve as the catalyst and spiritual portal that bring America back to its origin in greatness as the nation of “e pluribus unum” — meaning one out of many.
In a recent post on X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated that the reinstatement of the 1914 Reconciliation Monument, which celebrates the bringing together of the South and the North after decades of post-Civil War division, was important because it fosters the unity of America, and its removal by “woke lemmings” in 2023 was inconsistent with…