One thing appears certain going into today’s Salisbury City Council meeting. The council will hear from people who are absolutely certain the Confederate Monument should be moved from its public perch on West Innes Street. And the council will hear from people who are absolutely certain it should stay.

That leaves little room for compromise. The council, however, cannot begin to settle the monument issue this afternoon. Today’s public comment period merely gives citizens a chance to speak publicly. The meeting is not a public hearing; it’s not even clear that City Council has authority to determine what happens to the monument. But citizens have expressed a desire to talk about the monument with elected officials, and that process starts today.

Oddly enough, the General Assembly could make the matter moot. A bill moving through the legislature would outlaw the removal of any “monument, memorial plaque, statue, marker or display of a permanent character” without lawmakers’ approval. A Republican state senator from Boone filed the bill in February, long before the current controversy erupted. While such a law might simplify —or squelch —  the current debate, giving politicians in Raleigh control over what should be local decisions would be a foolish step backwards.

Even if Raleigh issues a mandate on monuments, Salisbury should continue the conversation about the way we honor past generations. The Charleston church massacre and subsequent debate over the Confederate flag started the discussion; here’s an opportunity to move forward. The area has deep scars from the Civil War and its aftermath. Families made sacrifices that today’s generations cannot imagine or reenact, especially slave families whose stories have been neglected by historians. Engaging in conversation about monuments and tributes does not show a lack of backbone. If anything, it takes courage to wade into sensitive subjects.

The conversation going forward could be modeled after the movement that took place several years ago to transform the Freedman’s Cemetery on North Church Street into a fitting memorial for the people buried in its unmarked graves. Several suggestions about new memorials have surfaced and more should be encouraged.

Let today’s comments at City Council be the beginning of a civil, well-reasoned discussion. The winged Fame who holds up a wounded soldier in the Confederate Monument may be the most beautiful statue in the city, but there’s more to our Civil War story than one monument can convey.