Outside of my home town, Gainesville, my favorite city in Georgia is, and has always been, Savannah.

The recent controversy over the removal of two portraits at the Savannah City Hall is so unlike the Savannah most Georgians know and cherish.

If any city in Georgia stands head and shoulders above all others for historic preservation is has to be Savannah. It is hard to make a case for Atlanta which long ago gave up the mantle of a city of heritage and history which is so important to the personality of a city.

Some of our other Georgia cities do well and do continue to attract visitors for the culture the local citizens continue to emphasize. The importance of their own historical evolution results in certain unique identities. This means pride for those who live there, gain for those who do business there, and imitation by other cities which recognize this precious asset. Savannah remains Georgia's pacesetter.

This foolish dent caused by the removal of the portraits of General Robert E. Lee and former Mayor Wheaton is so unnecessary and out of character for Savannah. The wisdom of the past in Savannah has always been to tell it like it is. History is history and needs not be distorted or eliminated to suit the whims of politically correct advocates who wish to advance their own cause.

Georgia has made great strides in the rights and opportunities for all of our citizens. As more and more in our black communities realize this, those who profit by promoting racial division are becoming less and less an influence.

We all have history and heritage which we should mutually respect and support. We should be celebrating the triumphs of a valuable recognition of those things we can do together for the benefit of the mutual progress of all Georgians.

All too often we have agitators who continually look to the past to place prejudice on our future. We need to all recognize injustices of the past, not just in Georgia, not just in the South, not just in the United States, but these injustices took place throughout the world. Unfortunately these same blights continue today in some parts of the world. They were and are conducted by people of all colors and began before first recorded in biblical history.

The people of Savannah would be well served by leaders who would observe the wisdom of the great black baseball pitcher, Sachel Page. He said; "I don't look back, something might be gaining on me."

Let's keep Savannah in the lead for the beautiful, accurate, historical and heritage-preservation city it is known to be. A little tolerance can avoid unpleasantness and lawsuits. We all should stand for that.