text: A strong aversion to racist symbols is NOT just a matter of  someone's personal "feelings"; racism is illegal in the USA, and our whole history as a nation has been shaped by a growing recognition of why this should be so.
  
  The monuments are being removed because of this recognition. The removal symbolizes the "better angels of our nature" to whom Lincoln appealed in his first inaugural. 
  
  It's part of that "more perfect union" the Founders sought. Surely you can see these things . . .