Roland Martin of CNN denounced the proclamation from Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell making April Confederate History Month. Martin has decided that confederate soldiers were no better than al Qaeda terrorists. In order to do this one must make the leap that the civil war was only about Slavery; and it was not. There were many other factors that caused the civil war in this country.
Some of those factors include state rights as well as economic factors. The reality is that fewer than 5% of people in the south owned slaves. The other 95% of the south didn’t go to war to protect that 5%. Slavery was a despicable practice and no one is trying to defend it, but it is part of our history. Virginia has a great deal to offer to people who are history buffs. I actually live relatively close to one of the civil war battlefields, Bull Run. This particular battle was a real turning point in the war and as such drives a great deal of tourism for Northern Virginia. It also serves as a reminder of what could happen if we allow ourselves to be so divided.
One of the problems that we have in this country today is an effort to rewrite our history. We fought a civil war almost 150 years ago; slavery was part of the reason that we fought that war. But, it was not the only reason. Roland Martin can try a turn this into a racial argument all that he wants to, but it still will not make it so.
“As a matter of conscience, I will not justify, understand or accept the atrocious view of Muslim terrorists who view their actions as representing a just war. They are reprehensible, and their actions are a sin against humanity.”
“And I will never, under any circumstances, cast Confederates as heroic figures who should be honored and revered. No, they have been, and forever will be, domestic terrorists.”
There was an initial dust up with the proclamation because it didn’t mention slavery at all, then McDonnell made yet another mistake by saying that he was focusing on the issues that were important to Virginia, saying that slavery wasn’t important to Virginia. But, that being said, it still doesn’t excuse the mentality that Martin is portraying. We have a history, and not all of it is good.
It is time that we have the difficult conversations and study the history for what it is. The war was fought for a variety of reasons, not all of them had to do with racism or slavery. We cannot white wash our history for future generations. Teach them every side and allow the facts to guide the determination of what happened. By acting like the confederacy didn’t exist is nothing more than the liberal elitists turning our history into something that it is not. The south has a very rich history, the confederacy, slavery, and the civil war are only small parts of that history; there is nothing wrong with celebrating and examining that history without resorting to calling southerners terrorists.
Comparing confederate soldiers with al qeda is not a logical comparison. They weren't terrorists, but more like revolutionaries in that they wanted to start their own country. On the other hand, saying the civil war was about states rights is a little thin (this argument is made by many pro-south white supremacists). Read Mississippi's declaration of secession. slavery was pretty much it. The civil war is an example of what happens when you kick the can down the road too much and too far. Trying to defend the south or slavery is like trying to pick up the clean end of a turd.
ReplyDeleteThe South had law on its side. When the thirteen colonies confederated, there was no mention of a penalty if they should decide to drop out. However the winner in a war usually is the one who writes the books and is justified.
ReplyDeleteThe slavery issue was one that ripe for abolition but those who defended their homes from invasion from the North can hardly be called terrorists.
Right Guy:
ReplyDeleteI am not trying to defend slavery or even the south for that matter. All I am saying is that what Roland Martin is saying is that we shouldn't be looking at our history accurately. The "confederacy" is more than just slavery and the civil war. It is a cultural thing. Our history needs to be taught and celebrated. Not all of it is good, but it isn't all bad either.
I think he is wrong too. Al Qaeda has nothing else in mind except to scare and kill people. Terrorists. I understand the cultural end, but in today's world, it just doesn't fly.
ReplyDeleteLL:
Try secession today. Even if the state had the guts, I doubt it would fly, although I can hardly image the cacasotto in chief sending troops in, at least initially, until some incident was created.
The confederates were nothing but common run-of-the-mill traitors who caused the needless deaths of over 400,000 United States citizens. They were more like nazis than Al-Quieda.
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