I know there's already a thread that touches on this a bit. I may kicking up a hornets nest here. But I just wanted to offer some thoughts on what's been going on, and the numerous calls for Confederate monuments to be removed.
Look, even though I was born in North Carolina, I'm a yankee at heart. This doesn't affect me because any statue up here is devoted to John Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Sumner, or Ted Williams. But I am a historian and I know a great deal about the Civil War. To me, removing these statues completely doesn't feel right.
I do understand how it could be unsettling or even infuriating to someone who's black, that a monument of someone who fought on the side to preserve an economy based on enslaving their ancestors, stands on public property, courthouses and parks. The Confederacy is on the wrong side of history, and anyone associated with it will be seen the same way.
But, history is complex and filled with much gray. Many of the top generals of the Confederacy like Robert E. Lee, simply fought to protect their home states. These Confederate soldiers and generals were still Americans. They were kin to the ones who fought for the Union. No one here would ever defend slavery or the way black people were treated then and thereafter. However, we don't need to remove the statues simply to make ourselves feel good simply because a couple hundred morons made Hitler salutes and attacked people in Charlottesville.
I would rather see these statues removed to museums or cemeteries with Confederate veterans. I would even support leaving them there with a plaque or information that properly explains the context of the time and war these men fought.
Above all, we need to be sensible. And as I finish off this Dsouthr length worthy post, I would add that history, whether good or bad, needs to be acknowledged and learned from. But I don't see people on either side of the isle doing that. Not the morons of the alt-right, and not the retarded social justice warriors on my facebook feed.
As Americans, all we need to do is remember that we can always do better.
Look, even though I was born in North Carolina, I'm a yankee at heart. This doesn't affect me because any statue up here is devoted to John Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Sumner, or Ted Williams. But I am a historian and I know a great deal about the Civil War. To me, removing these statues completely doesn't feel right.
I do understand how it could be unsettling or even infuriating to someone who's black, that a monument of someone who fought on the side to preserve an economy based on enslaving their ancestors, stands on public property, courthouses and parks. The Confederacy is on the wrong side of history, and anyone associated with it will be seen the same way.
But, history is complex and filled with much gray. Many of the top generals of the Confederacy like Robert E. Lee, simply fought to protect their home states. These Confederate soldiers and generals were still Americans. They were kin to the ones who fought for the Union. No one here would ever defend slavery or the way black people were treated then and thereafter. However, we don't need to remove the statues simply to make ourselves feel good simply because a couple hundred morons made Hitler salutes and attacked people in Charlottesville.
I would rather see these statues removed to museums or cemeteries with Confederate veterans. I would even support leaving them there with a plaque or information that properly explains the context of the time and war these men fought.
Above all, we need to be sensible. And as I finish off this Dsouthr length worthy post, I would add that history, whether good or bad, needs to be acknowledged and learned from. But I don't see people on either side of the isle doing that. Not the morons of the alt-right, and not the retarded social justice warriors on my facebook feed.
As Americans, all we need to do is remember that we can always do better.
