For monuments, the issue is outside groups coming in and demanding they be taken down. If the monuments should go, just have a vote in that county or state. I want to take Lee as an example. His surrender and forcing the Confederate army to stand down and not engage in guerilla warfare was huge and he deserves massive praises for not turning the US into the Middle East. On the flip side, his opinion of African Americans at that time was not good, and while he wasn't the worst person in the Confederacy, he was not a good person in this regard. It is a mixed bag.
If Virginia wants to take his statue down, the governor should announce a special vote come election time. If the majority want it down, take the statue down. If they don't, then leave it up. The problem is that he just decided to make a decision in the moment. What is to stop a governor in the future from saying that MLK was communist and order his statues ripped down? If you want to make it a national law, then pass an admendment, get support for it.
That is the problem I have with the left. They want to rule through absolute power and avoid any kind of accountability or voting. It is all rule through the courts or decrees.
Take the LBGT ruling by the Supreme Court. Do I think it is a good thing, yes. Do I think the Supreme Court should have ruled on it, no. Same with everything else. You may say that the governor of Virginia was elected, well if he campaigned on the issue of ripping down the statues, then sure. It is like Trump and the wall. Trump kept saying he would build a wall, it was a very clear campaign point and controversial position he took a stand on. I can tell you that the governor of Virginia did not campaign on taking down the statues.
That is my problem, it is all reactionary to the loudest and a very stupid portion of the electorate.
You want to know something. I agree fuck the Confederate statues. All of the leaders in the Confederacy were horrible to not good people. Those statues do have historical significance but are also symbols of a failed cause founded in the belief of slavery. Even with all that said, don't take away people's choice in the matter. Because the moment you allow that, the next day they may come for your statues or your rights. That is my problem with mobs tearing them down.