It is common for societies to erect statues in honor of soldiers who fought bravely for the country.
The trouble with the statues of Confederate soldiers and warriors is that the people honored fought on the losing side: a side dedicated to the separation of the United States into two countries, one with slavery and one without. Lose the war, win the peace, if it can fairly be called that.
You can see why there's no middle ground on Confederate monuments. Historian Karen Cox, who teaches at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, takes up the story in her book No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice.
We discuss the long fight over the monuments, and the possibilities in America after the George Floyd murder.