As statues are defaced and torn down, and buildings are renamed to remove dark and troubling reminders of America's imperfect history, isn't it about time we come to grips as a nation with our sordid and embarrassing past and remove the glorification of one of the most divisive figures in American history?
Isn't it time we remove Hillary Clinton's name from the State Department pavilion that bears her name?
In the final days of the Obama Administration, Clinton's name was slapped up on the walls of the just-finished U.S. Diplomacy Center at Foggy Bottom. The Hillary Rodham Clinton Pavilion was an obvious slap in the face of the incoming administration. A defiant reminder of Secretary Clinton's shameful legacy.
On January 10, 2017, just ten days before Donald Trump was sworn into office (instead of Clinton), the former Secretary of State returned to the State Department to help open the new pavilion that bore her name.
"I'm thrilled to be here at the new Hillary Clinton Pavilion," Clinton said during her remarks at the ceremony. "I'm sure you will notice it is the most transparent part of the entire project." An obviously defiant statement mocking the deceitful nature of her tenure, which included her felonious use of a private, unsecured email server to transmit state secrets.
Oh sure, she may claim she was referring to the glass entryway of the Clinton Pavilion, but we know a dog whistle when we hear it.
We are told that monuments, names and other vestiges of America's past must be torn down because we can't imagine the pain and turmoil that many Americans experience while passing a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee or Christopher Columbus or the anguish one endures when making a turn on to Grant Ave.
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By that standard, can we please take a moment and imagine the pain and anguish a member of the military feels when they must arrive at work by passing through the Hillary Rodham Clinton Pavilion every day?
No doubt, they immediately recall the events of September 11, 2012, when brave Americans fought to the death against an angry, radical Islamist mob for thirteen hours. They must relive in horror the anguish of their fallen comrades who waited for support and reinforcements that never arrived while Secretary of State Clinton worked on deceitful talking points to save her political career rather than defend American lives in peril at one of her diplomatic outposts.
Are we to overlook the pain felt by anyone who must face severe legal repercussions if they use a Gmail or Yahoo account for a work-related email rather than an official "State.gov" address? How do they feel walking under the name "Hillary Rodham Clinton" emblazoned above their heads, mocking them as they go to work on their secured, archived email server?
What about the diplomats working day and night to ward off the threat of Russian interference in our elections? Wasn't it Clinton who used her brand new diplomatic powers as Secretary of State to kowtow to Putin's lackeys in Moscow with an embarrassing "reset" button that wasn't even translated properly to Russian? How humiliating for those young diplomats to have to face the defiant arrogance of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Pavilion every day?
It's time for America to face up to its sad and embarrassing past. No country is perfect. But we continue to fail future generations if we don't face the mistakes of our past and correct them.
The time is past due to remove Hillary Clinton's name from the State Department and put it in a historical location where we can best study her legacy and learn from it. Is there a museum at Leavenworth?
Can you imagine naming a government building after a more divisive figure in recent American history? Well, actually, we can, but we'll get to all those Barack Obama Elementary Schools another time.
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