Much of human life is bound up with memory: whether in school, when one memorizes dates, grammar rules, and mathematical formulas; or in relationships, when one remembers birthdays or anniversaries; or as we age, when we remember good people and experiences. We tend to associate memory with wisdom, too. We remember the past—whether it be the good, the bad, or the ugly—in order to live wiser lives in the present.

Thus, I was somewhat puzzled when I stumbled upon a piece by prominent historian Allen C. Guelzo, “Why We Must Forget the Lost Cause,” published on May 12, 2021, at the website of The Gospel Coalition. Guelzo has had a long interest in Southern things, even penning a book on Abraham Lincoln entitled Redeemer President. But I was struck by Guelzo—a historian—calling on people to forget.

Now, in fairness to Guelzo, the piece at The Gospel Coalition is mainly working to debunk what Guelzo sees as five key tenets of “Lost Cause” ideology, and is not—as least explicitly—a broad-side against the South. But for those who have eyes to see… Guelzo, to his credit, notes the apparent incongruity of a historian who calls people to forget aspects of the past, but his reflection on this question is oh-so-brief.