The reprieve a federal judge granted to the Confederate Memorial at Arlington cemetery offers a chance to weigh whether President Biden is moving with undue haste to remove what advocates like Senator Webb see as a symbol of post-Civil War reconciliation. The zeal to jettison the memorial, honoring the Confederate dead, raises fears that, amid a welcome reckoning over race in American history, the building blocks of national unity are being hollowed out.

On Monday Judge Rossie Alston ordered a temporary halt to efforts by the Defense Department to remove the memorial from the grounds of the national military cemetery. The ruling came at the behest of a group called Defend Arlington, which contends “the removal will desecrate, damage, and likely destroy the Memorial.” A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. That offers a valuable, if brief, respite to reflect on the merits of keeping the memorial in place.