My feelings on this kind of thing, the erasing of history, mirror my own personal views to a large degree.
I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. I’ve done stupid things. Bad things. Inconsiderate things. And even reprehensible things.
But all of those things, as unpalatable or as negative as they might be, are part of me. Those things, in combination with the intelligent, good, generous, and decent things I have done in life are what make me...me.
All those things, good and bad make me who I am.
And I don’t want to eradicate those bad things because they are part of me. I don’t want to celebrate those things. But neither should I shy away from looking them in the face and remembering how they have changed me as a person, and for the better. That I learned from those things.
I feel the same way about our country. Slavery was bad. But it is part of who we are, and all that goes with it. I would like to think in the end, dealing with it has made us stronger. And better.
And people like Lee, Bragg, and others who were part of the Confederacy are just as valuable to who we are as a nation as Grant or Sherman are.
I find the concept of erasing history for whatever reason to be cowardly, repulsive and alien. It is part of what makes us American.
I haven't seen the book but he gave a talk on the subject which was on C-SPAN a few days ago. He admires Lee very much and made a good case generally about not cancelling history. He sounded like an anti-woke conservative.