OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to a letter suggesting the site of the Champlain Monument become a speakers’ corner, published Jan. 26.
It is an interesting concept and could be accommodated beside the statue.
Orillia is my hometown and I found the statue to be a wonderful work of art. It was majestic in its appearance and, although it may not have told the story by today’s woke standards, I did not see it in a negative light.
It is not right for people to bury history. Hitler tried that with his book burning. Use it to tell the story of all of those who were affected by Champlain.
To destroy art and history is to hide part of the truth and restricting it to a woke minority will distort what our future generations view as our history.
True history is the truth — warts and all. In the Middle East, ISIS destroyed their past. Let’s not follow their example. Let’s learn from history to make a better tomorrow.
Lance Naismith
Oakville
