Worthy of a Platform
I’ve been thinking a lot about statues and the problems we face when we raise someone up as a model citizen, worthy of specific adoration. This was brought to mind for me as I watched the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol Harbour. His name had been discussed for a while in the city. In June, he was finally removed and we began the discussion of which men, and it is mostly men, (nine out of ten statues honour a man), are believed to still be worthy of a place on a plinth. As we come to terms with our history supporting the slave trade there is a lot to discuss. So we have begun to assess the statues and discuss who needs to be removed. As an island with a lot of port cities, where money was made through slavery, there are a lot of problematic statues. Quickly Robert Milligan, another slave trader was removed,, then the discussion resurfaced about Cecil Rhodes, the imperialist who was credited for creating the damaging apartheid in South Africa.
The issues for which these men are despised are very black and white, slavery is abhorrent, I was pleased with their removal. But I found myself having much more conflicting feelings when I heard it suggested that memorials to Winston Churchill should also be removed. How could the man who had led us through one of the darkest periods of our history, and who was voted the greatest ever Briton in 2002 be deemed socially unacceptable. But research tells me that he held racist views, in 1937 he told the Palestine Royal Commission of the supremacy of the white race, and like Rhodes he was an imperialist who believed civilisation would end if the British empire fell. As a racist and an imperialist surely monuments to Winston also need to be removed, however admirably he might have behaved, he exhibited the same repulsive views as Colston and Rhodes so he has to go.
Where are we left then, when the man who was voted the Greatest Briton in a 2002 poll is actually revealed to hold repulsive, racist views? If society is only going to be happy with monuments to people who are beyond reproach, we’re going to struggle to find them. If it’s perfection we are looking for, then there will be 828 empty plinths across the UK. Even if there are people who we agree could be placed on a statue, we may discover later on that even they have done things or said things that disappoint us. When we think about it would any among us feel comfortable with the idea of being cast in marble, placed on a plinth, lifted high above society? I know that there are many aspects of my character which would make me totally unworthy of this kind of treatment.
This is the problem if we are looking for perfect men and women to honour. They just don’t exist. The Bible states this clearly, saying all have fallen short, we have all missed perfection. There is only one who is perfect, God. In fact only one human has ever lived a life worthy of honour. That is Jesus, God’s son who was sent to earth and lived a perfect life. Through his perfection we can be forgiven for everything we have ever done wrong. If we choose to follow Jesus we can be certain we will never find in his life something that would be a reason to stop.
When we raise up people like Colston, Rhodes and Churchill we must be ready for disappointment, because humans are fallible, imperfect, immoral. When we follow Jesus we know we will never be disappointed. We find that we don’t worship a cold statue raised high above us, instead we are journeying with a friend for the rest of our lives, someone we can turn to, someone we can talk to, someone who loves us and someone whose character and behaviour will never necessitate removal from our lives.
Kate Pellereau
Kate Pellereau is a newly licensed curate at Buckingham Parish church. Following a decade in teaching she heard a call to ministry. It’s early days but she’s loving ministry life so far.