Richard Stockton was a courageous revolutionary hero

That's right. Hero. I've had enough of the pandering to the #FakeOffended politically correct crowd.

It's not breaking news that many of our Founding Fathers were also slave holders. It's not news that many leaders and heroes who helped forge our nation from violence eventually ending the horror of slavery were flawed men. The latest casualty in this war on American history is Richard Stockton. Stockton was a revolutionary leader from Princeton, New Jersey who not only signed the Declaration of Independence but was imprisoned for it.

According to historians, Stockton was treated with brutality by his British captors resulting in health complications and his early death at the age of 51. The man sacrificed his wealth and power to stand firm against the crown. Released after a relatively short time by the British caused some to doubt his commitment to the revolution. He was even asked to sign a new commitment to the Continental Congress after his release. There is no doubt that this man was a man of extraordinary courage and strength. Without him and man like him who were willing to risk it all for liberty, our nation may not even exist today. The administration at Stockton State University decided to remove a bust of Stockton from the college's library.  In their statement to the campus the excuse was that it's only temporary and it will reappear in a future exhibit.

Clearly the timing couldn't be coincidental at a moment when everyone standing up for the preservation of historical monuments are being labeled racists ad bigots. It's gotta stop.  President Trump was right. We have seen the movement to take down the stature of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson build momentum attacking everything having to do with the founding of the nation. Trump pointed out that if you're gonna be consistent in tearing down monuments to historical figures it won't be long until Washington and Jefferson become targets. Thankfully, smart leaders and popular figures are starting to speak out in defense of history and the monuments that help us learn from the trials and tribulations of the past. Condoleeza Rice and Charles Barkley are the latest to come forward.

There are many others who don't have a stage to come forward. But through my microphone on the show this week, we gave many the opportunity to speak out. Caller after caller explained to me that as black men and women they were fed up with the distraction of the assault on monuments. Monuments, left standing or torn down don't create jobs in black communities and they certainly don't make the streets safe from crime.

The nation has been struggling with a renewed increase in violence and racial tension ever since police officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri after he went for the officers gun and charged at him on the street. President Obama bears some of the responsibility by fanning the flames of racial tension and divisiveness after the Trayvon Martin was killed. He didn't make the atmosphere any better for law enforcement after Ferguson. President Trump by contrast didn't take sides. He spoke the truth about "Both Sides" having a hand in the violence. But that doesn't fit the radical, anarchist, racist, anti-history, anti-law enforcement narrative. So the small minority of people who want to cause trouble are doubling down. This issue is more than ignorance of history, it's about justification of violence. It's also about administrators and local leaders acting out of fear of being the next target. We need to expand the conversation about the good and the bad in our history. We need to provide cover for administrators and local politicians to act without fear of repercussions of violence and career damaging labels.

Ferguson, Baltimore and now Charlottesville serve as example of dangerous, irresponsible and destructive behavior. I've already written about Ferguson and Charlottesville standing up for the truth about the "hands up don't shoot" lie  and the fact that Charlottesville clearly was a result of both sides. Instead of looking internally at the politically motivated and dangerous rhetoric and actions from some members of Black Lives Matter and AntiFa (listed by NJ's homeland security dept. as a domestic terror group) the media and left-leaning agitators are on an all-out assault on American history. Seems everyone who helped create the free and prosperous nation we have today is under attack.

The side who wants to erase and whitewash history have a strong hold at our academic institutions and in the media. ESPN is not letting Asian-American Robert Lee broadcast the University of Virginia football game, because of his name. The discussion of another ESPN reporter who shares a name with a Nazi official, may also be in trouble. Then there's the kicker...Some students at the University of Southern California are opposed to the USC Trojan mascot, a white horse named Traveler, because the horse bears the same name of a horse owned at one point by...Robert E. Lee. This could be the tipping point exposing the irrational position taken by the forces of political correctness. We'll see. But nothing changes unless strong people of conviction on both sides of the political aisle stand up and speak out.

Hopefully you will stand with me and others calling out the ignorance, hypocrisy and dangerous rhetoric and actions plaguing our cities, schools and airwaves.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea.

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