[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 22, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H4112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            EMBRACE HISTORY

  (Mr. WRIGHT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. WRIGHT. Madam Speaker, now we have a Democratic Presidential 
candidate who seems to think that some things named to honor Thomas 
Jefferson should be renamed, going as far as to say, ``It's the right 
thing to do.'' Well, maybe he should go back to school and learn about 
the stunning impact our Founding Fathers had not only on American 
history but the history of the world.
  To use 21st-century sensibilities to help frame the future may be a 
good thing, but to use those same sensibilities to judge the past or, 
worse, to erase parts of our history is simply stupid.
  If we measure historical figures and places against a model of 
perfection, nobody and no nation will ever meet it. We must celebrate 
the achievements of the past and learn from its mistakes without 
erasing or rewriting the parts that make 21st-century Americans 
uncomfortable.
  The story of America is the story of progress, of advancement, of 
always getting better. We should embrace that history in its totality.

                          ____________________