Statues honoring civic progress are fine reminders of courageous individuals and shared accomplishments. Yet they are no solace for the people who recognize the poor state of our society and who are actively fighting for a better state.
Send the bronze on tour, and in its place — especially at the precipice above State Street — offer a prominent perch upon which speakers may stand and lead assemblies in common cause.
The state isn’t required to provide a platform for its citizens and future leaders. That’s the responsibility of the people, and this is our commons.
The pulpit — as obtuse and arcane as it was while it stood at the opposing vantage from Library Mall — provided such an invitation. I lament no longer having the opportunity to test my voice atop it, as I had imagined I might, so many days while walking in the heart of our civic-minded state.
No statue ever encouraged me to dream as big.
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Platforms, not statues, enable progress, CapTimes, August 22, 2020