Mount Rushmore

Published in El Financiero
(Mexico) on 7/6/2020
by Jorge Berry (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Nick Dauster. Edited by Denile Doyle.


 

Mount Rushmore is, it could be argued, the most impressive monument dedicated to honoring the founders of the United States of America. Located in Keystone, South Dakota, it is a gigantic sculpture created by Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, with copies of busts of four Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Each one measures about 18 meters and is sculpted from granite.

It is a sign of our times that for the first time in the history of Mount Rushmore, it has become the subject of national controversy, in light of the current pressure to grant African Americans true equality. Why? Groups defending racial equality floated the possibility of eliminating Washington and Jefferson from the monument, since they were slave owners.

An analysis of the merits of the proposal must wait for a different column. For now, it is sufficient to point out that this is happening during a profound cultural upheaval, in which any vestige of recognition for the cause that the secessionist states defended in the Civil War is being eliminated. The major Southern cities in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and other states have taken down statues that glorified the Southern generals. The famous secessionist flag, which can still be found on some state flags, was also dismissed. Those who still defend keeping these symbols of the Confederacy are deeply conservative.

After all, unlike Mount Rushmore, the Southern generals of the Civil War were not just slave owners. They rose up against the Union and put together a powerful rebel army that came close to defeating Lincoln in the Civil War, which cost thousands of lives on both sides.

These are the circumstances in which President Donald Trump decided to stage a macro-event to commemorate July Fourth, the United States' Independence Day.

Trump's speech was, predictably, full of hate and divisiveness. He ranted against his opponents, against what he called "the destruction of this resplendent heritage," in defense of the toppled statues and promised to build what he called a "park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live," where the past of the nation would be commemorated — although he gave no details about how this park would represent the dark era of American slavery and the systemic racism from which minorities in the country still suffer.

But, in addition to the cultural controversy, which frankly has electoral goals, Trump once more violated the accepted protocols for impeding the spread of COVID-19, and his staff did the same. The fact that the United States has registered 50,000 cases of infection in a single day for the third consecutive time did not appear to be important. And it is beyond belief that, given his irresponsible conduct, he hasn't been infected himself. The Secret Service, charged with the security of the president and his family, and of the vice president and his, forced Vice President Mike Pence to cancel an event because there weren't enough agents to protect him, since the number of them who are isolated after testing positive for coronavirus is so high.

Next Wednesday, Trump will meet with the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in the White House. Only Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is missing from a meeting of the three leaders who have shown the greatest irresponsibility in handling the pandemic. At present, it is reasonable to anticipate that neither Trump nor Lopez Obrador will use a mask and that they will shake hands, providing the worst example to the citizens of both countries, in which thousands of citizens die and are infected every day. It may be populism, or ignorance, or vanity, or personal political considerations, but while a good portion of the world is reaching the edge of the pandemic, Mexico and the United States cannot even foresee that happening.

Next Thursday, I will comment on the visit.


El Monte Rushmore es, debatiblemente, el monumento más impresionante dedicado a honrar a los fundadores de los Estados Unidos de América. Se localiza en Keystone, Dakota del Sur, y es una gigantesca escultura creada por Gutzon Borglum y su hijo Lincoln, que reproduce los bustos de cuatro presidentes: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln y Theodore Roosevelt. Cada busto mide unos 18 metros y está esculpido sobre granito.

Seña de nuestros tiempos es que por primera vez en la historia el Monte Rushmore está convertido en objeto de controversia nacional, a la luz de la presión actual por incorporar a los afroamericanos a una verdadera igualdad. ¿La causa? Grupos defensores de la igualdad racial flotaron la posibilidad de eliminar a Washington y a Jefferson de la escultura, puesto que eran dueños de esclavos.

Quedará para otra colaboración el análisis de los méritos de la propuesta. Por ahora, basta señalar que esto ocurre bajo una profunda sacudida cultural, en la que se está eliminando cualquier vestigio de reconocimiento a la causa que defendieron los estados secesionistas en la Guerra Civil. Las principales ciudades del sur, en Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, y otros, han eliminado, sobre todo, estatuas que glorificaban a los generales sureños. Quedó también borrada la famosa bandera secesionista, que aún se conservaba en algunas banderas estatales. Quienes aún defienden la permanencia de estas manifestaciones, son profundamente conservadores.

Después de todo, y a diferencia del Monte Rushmore, los generales sureños de la Guerra Civil no sólo eran dueños de esclavos. Se levantaron en armas contra la unión, y armaron un poderoso ejército rebelde, que estuvo cerca de vencer a Lincoln en la Guerra Civil, y que costó miles de muertes en ambos bandos.

Con este marco, el presidente Donald Trump decidió montar un macroevento para conmemorar el 4 de julio, día de la Independencia de Estados Unidos.

El discurso de Trump fue, previsiblemente, lleno de odio y división. Despotricó contra sus rivales, contra lo que llamó “la destrucción de nuestra cultura”, al defender las estatuas derribadas, y prometió construir lo que llamó “el parque de los héroes americanos”, donde se conmemore el pasado de la nación, aunque no dio detalles de cómo representaría el parque la negra época de la esclavitud americana, y el racismo sistémico que aún padecen las minorías en el país.

Pero además de la controversia cultural, con fines francamente electoreros, Trump de nuevo violó y solapó a los asistentes que hicieron lo propio, todos los protocolos aceptados para impedir nuevos contagios de Covid-19. El hecho de que Estados Unidos haya registrado 50 mil contagio en un día por tercera vez consecutiva, no parece importarle. Y es de no creerse que, dada su conducta irresponsable, él mismo no se haya contagiado. El servicio secreto, encargado de la seguridad del presidente y su familia, y del vicepresidente y la suya, obligó a que Mike Pence cancelara un evento, porque no alcanzaban los agentes para protegerlo. Así de alto es el número de agentes del servicio secreto que están aislados luego de dar positivo en las pruebas de coronavirus.

El próximo miércoles, el presidente Trump recibe en la Casa Blanca al presidente de México Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Faltaría Jair Bolsonaro de Brasil, para reunir a los tres mandatarios que más irresponsabilidad han mostrado en el manejo de la pandemia. Desde ahora, es razonable anticipar que ninguno de los dos, ni Trump ni López Obrador, usarán cubrebocas, y que se saludarán de mano, dando así un pésimo ejemplo a los ciudadanos de ambos países, en donde todos los días mueren y se contagian miles de ciudadanos. Es populismo, es ignorancia, es vanidad o son intereses políticos personales, pero mientras buena parte del mundo está llegando a la otra orilla de la pandemia, México y Estados Unidos no tienen para cuando.

Aquí los espero el jueves con la crónica de la visita.
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