by James A. Bacon

First they came for the equestrian statues of Robert E. Lee.

Then they removed his name from Lee Chapel at Washington & Lee University, where he is buried.

Then they came for the memorial to his horse Traveller.

Now they want to remove him from Virginia license plates.

A bill introduced by Del. Candi King, D-Woodbridge would direct the Department of Motor Vehicles to prohibit the issuance of license plates that make reference to the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, or any other prominent Confederate leader.

The Department of Motor Vehicles allows extensive personalization of the letters and digits in license plates for a modest surcharge. Motorists also can select from some 200 “special” license plates bearing names and icons of universities, charities, hobbies, and causes. The most recognizable is the “Don’t Tread on Me” plate, a favorite of conservatives and libertarians.

But there is also a “United We Stand” plate and a “Peace” plate favored by liberals and lefties. More akin to the Lee plate honoring Southern heritage, there is a Richmond Planet plate, honoring African-American heritage. The Richmond Planet newspaper championed African-American resistance to post-Civil War racism and segregation.

The people who honor Robert E. Lee do so not because he fought for the slave-holding Confederate States of America. They honor him as one of the greatest military leaders in American history, a man who epitomized the virtues of duty, integrity, sacrifice, and humility in his personal conduct, and as a leader of the reconciliation between North and South.

I understand why King, who is African-American, would not share the respect that many Virginians have for the man. I wouldn’t expect otherwise. But her personal feelings should not trump the ability of others to honor those whom they please. Her action, sadly, is typical of modern-day liberalism which fights the battle of symbols and ideas not with debate but by the suppression of discomfiting views.

Why not counter with something positive? Why not champion a license plate for, say, Booker T. Washington, a Virginia-born hero of African-Americans, or any other number of home-grown Civil Rights leaders?

Why can’t we celebrate the diversity of our heritage? Or are “diversity” and “inclusion” to be striven for only when lefties get to define what kind of diversity counts and who it’s important to include?

A side note: The bill restricts the use of Confederate names and iconography in the Personalized License Plate Issuance Guidelines. It does not reference “special plates,” even though the DMV website refers to the Robert E. Lee plate as a “special” plate. According to a precise reading of the bill, the Lee specialty plate would not be affected. Here are the current restrictions included in the personalized-plate guidelines:

• Profane, obscene, or vulgar in nature

• Sexually explicit or graphic

• Excretory-related

• Used to describe intimate body parts or genitals

• Used to condone or encourage violence

• Used to describe illegal activities or illegal substances

A personal note: My “personalized” license plate of the past 20 or so years is “Usuthu.” One hundred brownie points to anyone who can identify the meaning.