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To The Editor:

The Farmville Town Council is to be commended for its action in removing the statue of the Confederate soldier, both for its removal and the manner in which it was done.

The council has been criticized for the efficiency with which the removal was decided upon and carried out, the action having been characterized as “Machiavellian” (too grandiose a term for a single act) and “sneaky” (an inappropriately petty dig at council members acting appropriately).

In most cases, political decisions benefit from public discussion. The case of the statue is unique. We have only the one statue. In the current climate, the council’s action has spared us a prolonged verbal re-enactment of a Civil War battle that would have been unnecessarily divisive. The quiet removal of the statue allows us to concentrate on other matters that unite us as a community.

Our government, local and national, is by representation, not by referendum. The Farmville Town Council has represented us well in this instance.

Joseph C. McCutchen

Farmville