Charleston P&C: Fort Sumter barred from pointing out that it is beset by rising sea levels

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Hicks: Snowflakes are descending on Fort Sumter in this country's longest, dumbest winter

• By Brian Hicks
• 58 mins ago

 

A sign describing the effects of sea level rise and its threats to Fort Sumter was removed following a directive from the Trump administration. It's an example cited in a lawsuit against the National Park Service for whitewashing its interpretive history.

Fort Sumter has gone and gotten itself dragged into yet another national conflict tearing us all apart.

Sad thing is, it’s not even about what you’d think.

See, the Charleston Harbor landmark is Exhibit A in a lawsuit filed by groups upset that the National Park Service is removing any material from its properties that, well, triggers snowflakes.

Not the left-wing ones, mind you — the right-wing ones. Who, turns out, are way more sensitive.

The hilarious part is that, of all the things you could say about the fort that might spark what the millennials call “feelings” — the fact that the fort was built by slaves, the actual cause of the conflict, which starts with "s" but isn’t "states'" rights — the example cited in the lawsuit is none of that.

No, the park service forced rangers to remove a sign that explained how the fort is currently threatened by … climate change.

Yeah, the interpretive sign said the manmade island was so susceptible to rising sea levels that its parade ground could be completely underwater by the end of this century. And that is apparently offensive to people who think all the flooding around here is a “Democratic hoax.”

Yes, this is where we are. Cancel culture much?

 

Fort Sumter has become a battleground in yet another national conflict.

File/Grace Beahm Alford/Staff

Since President Donald Trump last year issued his inadvertently Orwellian executive order, “Restoring Truth (sic) and Sanity (sic) to American History,” the Park Service has been furiously whitewashing its 420 sites for anything that mentions anything less than awesome about our past.

You know, like how the country has at times treated black people, Indians, women — anything that might offend semi-literate, quasi-educated people. Basically, interpretive signs that highlight the struggles or achievements of anyone other than white guys can provoke prolonged hissy fits.

 

Make no mistake, Fort Sumter has also been tagged by the federal government for peddling some race-related material. It’s been forced to remove books from its gift shops that explore the African American history of the area.

Even though that does nothing to take away from the significance of Sumter’s role in the War Between the States. It just exposes the less-than-benevolent motivations of some people in that conflict.

Of course, all that’s nothing new — people have been getting the vapors over that stuff since Reconstruction, and all the way up to now … when folks are arguing about a Robert E. Lee highway marker the general wouldn’t even have wanted.

Some people really need hobbies.

Instead, the easily offended have found new things to trigger them. And for some reason, the scientifically calculated hypothesis that you might one day need a snorkel to visit Fort Sumter makes these folks absolutely bonkers.

 

When they’re stuck on Lockwood Drive during a thunderstorm at high tide, do they tell their car it’s not underwater ... or just blame Biden?

The real problem is, many of these folks believe the way to make America great again is to make it 1950 — you know, the heady days of separate schools, separate water fountains and jingoistic, facile history books that made Margaret Mitchell sound like Ken Burns. The 1950s were truly a happy place for some people.

Which is apparently why they’re bringing back the measles.

 

The federal response to the latest lawsuit — which is not in any way whiny, immature gaslighting — is to ignore the substance of the lawsuit and allege the groups behind it donate money to Democrats. Yeah, and probably Republicans, too.

That’s what people say to deflect and distract. And that is what all this “diversity, equity and inclusion” baloney is all about. The real conspiracy is stirring up people about  easy-to-understand stuff so the poor and middle class defend policies that actually cost them more money.

Like tariffs.

 

As President Lyndon B. Johnson once famously said: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”

Of course, if that quote previously appeared on any National Park Service interpretive sign, you can bet it’s now gone with the wind.

But maybe these folks are on to something. If we just pretend it’s the 1950s again, we don’t have to worry about all these decidedly 21st century problems. Like the lack of affordable housing, traffic or even flooding. We can just bury our heads in the sand … which won’t wash away since there’s not a darn thing wrong with our 1950s climate.

Which means Fort Sumter is never going to be underwater.

Unfortunately, at the rate we’re making the country dumb again, America might be sunk long before the fort.

Brian Hicks is The Post and Courier's metro columnist. Reach him at bhi...@postandcourier.com.