Letter: A different Lee

The argument about Washington and Jefferson being slave owners screams “straw man.” To me, the question is why would we honor someone who took a military oath to defend the U.S., then chose to lead an army in battle against the U.S.?

By that turncoat logic, can we expect Benedict Arnold Avenue next? For that matter, if we are honoring military leaders that we have defeated in war we should also have a Rommel Road and a Tojo Trail. I’m sure they, too, were regarded as honorable by those they lead.

This is not a liberal/conservative thing and has nothing to do with changing history, but with honoring the history of the United States — not the history of the Confederacy, a rebellious pseudo-nation that was defeated at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives.

Changing a street name that has existed for 70 years won’t and shouldn’t happen. However, the idea to change the honoree is an excellent compromise. A fellow Richland High School alum suggested former TCH publisher Glenn Lee. He certainly did a lot more to create the Tri-Cities of today than did Robert E. Lee.

This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Letter: A different Lee."