As we approach the 4th of July and the 154th year since Gettysburg transformed from a sleepy little college town to the center of the Civil War, we are confronted with a new drum beat, that of removing the symbols of the confederacy from southern states.
Reason post a piece calling for the whole sale exile of the various monuments to the generals and fighting men of the “Lost Cause.” The Federalist has another piece calling into question the military genius of Robert E. Lee, as a justification for consigning him to the background of history.
While there are those who say the remembrance of the confederacy is part of the history of the segregated south, others would argue it is part of the unique history of the region. Removal of any part of which knocks huge holes in 19th and 20th Century history and erases part of the nuance and context of the struggles for freedom.
So lets have a discussion on what exactly should be done with the symbols and reminders of this part of not just southern history, but American history as a whole.
those men were fighting because their homeland was being invaded. And as far as the monuments go, if you’re fighting for anything you’re fighting to preserve history.
Dixie-cide
Modern progressives are just as evil in their bloodlust against the South as were William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan. Today’s leftists may not yet be waging the shock-and-awe total warfare that the Union generals inflicted upon Southern civilians (whites and blacks alike) and their dwellings, businesses, churches, infrastructure, and food supply, but their aim is still the same: to have the Southern tradition and her people “annihilated and destroyed.”
http://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/dixie-cide/
Why Does the Left Really Despise the Confederacy?
So the truth should be plain to see: The Confederacy, symbolized by the Confederate Battle Flag, represents the greatest act of resistance to centralized authority in US history. That’s why they hate it. And that’s why it must go, lest we get any bright ideas about trying it again. American citizens must remain subjects of the State and no inspirational symbols of rebellion can be tolerated.
http://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/why-does-the-left-really-despise-the-confederacy/
Leave them where they stand or lay. And if the SJW’s want a do over to ease their consciences, oblige the shit out of them. Its past time to put this to bed.
You cannot erase history by removing landmarks and renaming roads and schools.
That Taliban and ISIS primitivism.
The mayor of Richmond, a black democrat, is exploring removing the statues on Monument Avenue. Without monuments why call it monument avenue?. Is Richmond to abolish the museum of the confederacy as well?
We all know that leftists use incrementalism to achieve their goals. Give them this and then traces of former slave owning founders are next. Bye bye Washington Monument, Jefferson memorial, etc.
Hell, why is the national capital named after Washington?
There is no end to this.
Who controls the past controls the future.
Who controls the present controls the past.
~~George Orwell
Time to pave over all the civil war battlefields as well looks like .
This past can’t be destroyed. Its the heart of American history. We’ve reacted way to late, as usual, but assets are in place.
Monuments such as these need a Great Home , we need to Put them in a Civil War Park of their Own. Some Conservative or Group Need to Secure All Of The Statues and Make sure they are Preserved ! And NOT by the Smithsonian !!!
Was Abraham Lincoln the first big government republican? I’ve never thought of it that way before, but in essence he was.
@plantsman.
Removed from every day public view and tucked away in some obscure location? Um. No.
It is time to stand our ground and resist this talibanization of America.
I’m with Cato on this one. My former slave family was in Kentucky
during the war and they remained neutral as most didn’t have slaves
there. We had a General in the family then and they didn’t fight
for either side, they made sure there was no fighting in the state.
Progressives claim the only reason the Civil War was fought was over slavery. That’s great!
So, if they remove the Civil War from our history, they’ll remove the reason it was fought as well. No more reparations. That’s how it’s supposed to work, right?
I would like to add to the discussion, but for some reason my post isn’t being accepted.
“You have the right to your own history, but you don’t have the right to erase other people’s history” ~ Shelby Foote
.. we are making the same mistake that erased Native Americans from their land
Cato – thanks for the links above
Wrong…just so wrong! All monuments should be appreciated as works of ART!
However, if we erase all memories of the Civil War, there is NO point in paying out one cent of reparations; so, sorry black folks…if history is gone, then slavery and the Emancipation Proclamation no longer exist, and y’all will NEVER get any $$$!!!
“Forget the past, lose an eye, dwell on the past, and lose both eyes.” – Russian proverb
I suppose it’s pointless to mention that our nation’s capital is named after a slave holder, I guess.
When are they going to bulldoze it all and start from scratch?
In the many years after the cessation of hostilities, veterans on both sides made reconciliations among themselves and their former enemies. Veterans formed associations and ladies formed memorial organizations. It was during this time that many of the monuments seen today, were placed. These monuments honored the memory of those fallen brothers, the battles, and their leaders. Over time monuments were placed into the hands of local governments and municipalities in an understanding of good faith, for their upkeep. These memorials were never meant to honor, defend, or praise the institution of slavery. Yet, that is what the sjw crowd is stating. It is a false narrative because if they spoke the truth, their position would be undermined. They HAVE to lie to the public. They HAVE to twist the original meaning to their advantage, otherwise the would vanish with a slight wind.
Maybe we should remove all vestiges of slavery and the Confederacy and dismantle the democrat party.
I am a recovering Yankee, living in Virginia in the former home of a Major who served in the Confederate cause. I have come to respect these men –and the wives and children and workers and servants and slaves they left behind when they went off to battle, defending a complicated economy and way of life. I’ve read diaries, met descendants, and got a whole different perspective than the one I grew up with just north of the Mason Dixon line –where the local monument lists the names of all the local boys who died in the slaughter, some for the Union and some for the Confederacy… with the same surnames on both sides… Brother against brother against cousin…
So now the suburban transplant SJW’s in Charlottesville want to take down the statues of Lee and Jackson and rename the parks they are in? Fine: they can pay for it, just like the donors of the statues and the land did. And they can deliver those fine statues to my acreage in the Shenandoah Valley, where right thinking farmers will defend them.