What do you think of VA Gov. McDonnell's Confederate History Month

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Charles

The whole issue has become purely political. Besides, the War's been over for near 150 yrs.

If the Governor of Virginia wants to proclaim a Confederate History Month, that's fine by me. When Virginia gets a Democratic Governor who wants to abolish the Confederate History Month, that's fine by me as well.

What I advocate is to drop the whole issue. The sins of the past are past. I say dry up and let the other guy do his thing.

You may not like it, but it's really no big deal. Don't people have REAL problems anymore?

Chas

You betcha, but things like this are designed to get their minds off the real problems and instead spend (waste) time throwing brickbats.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by finnbow

I feel much the same as you other than the fact that I think I was a cynical ploy by the Governor to keep the base fired up. It's hard to let it fade into history if one deliberately stirs the pot.

BTW, I have a couple good friends who live in the Shenandoah Valley (Strasburg) with roots that go very deep. They have portraits of Confederate generals/officers throughout their house and speak of the Civil War (oops, War of Northern Aggression) as if it were yesterday. I guess I just don't get it.

You weren't active here the last time we went through this.

One of my best friends, an attorney, also a member of the SCV, has his office decorated as such. Mother's maiden name was Lee, for what it's worth. I have also seen him stand up amongst the peckerwoods and announce that MLK was one of the greatest Americans who ever lived.

I would say more due to the over application of Dutch Courage than to a calculated political move on his part.

Perhaps an enigma to you, but not so to me. He feels a deep respect for his ancestors, and also his heritage. A respect for those who fought and sacrificed for what they considered to be right.

What happened 150 years ago wasn't completely right, or completely wrong, it was simply the way things were 150 years ago. We all see the world through our own eyes, which gives even the most objective of us a myopic view of things.

Myself, if they ain't botherin' me, I don't want to give 'em a reason to.

Chas

I won't go into when the Democrats had the Stars and Bars removed from the Old Confederate's Home ( funded and built by the Daughters of the Confederacy) here in Missouri, which was no more that political cover for Dick Gebbart. And then armed the Park Rangers during a Confederate ceremony at the OCH, just in case there was trouble.

MY friend, a STAUNCH Democrat, was so incensed that he was ready to go get the Navy Colt's down from the mantle, and ride into them with the reigns in his mouth. And to tell the truth, so was I.

Two sides to this coin.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by merrylander

You betcha, but things like this are designed to get their minds off the real problems and instead spend (waste) time throwing brickbats.

That's it in a nutshell. The amazing thing is, people never quit falling for it.

Chas

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Charles

The whole issue has become purely political. Besides, the War's been over for near 150 yrs.

If the Governor of Virginia wants to proclaim a Confederate History Month, that's fine by me. When Virginia gets a Democratic Governor who wants to abolish the Confederate History Month, that's fine by me as well.

What I advocate is to drop the whole issue. The sins of the past are past. I say dry up and let the other guy do his thing.

You may not like it, but it's really no big deal. Don't people have REAL problems anymore?

Chas

Hear, Hear!

Chas smacks the nail right on the head once again.

Dave

[BlueStreak]

I have an ancestor that left Western Virginia, and fled to Ohio with his family to join the Union Army when the war broke out. He was a Methodist Minister and an ardent and outspoken abolishionist. He was known for his firey speeches, and his ruthlessness. I saw an old newspaper article in which he claimed he truly believed he was "......doing Gods work upon the field of battle.".

I made the mistake of telling someone this once and got the reply; "So not only are you a goddamn Yankee, but you're great-grand daddy was a goddamned traitor as well?!"

Some people just can't let go, I guess.

Dave

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

I have an ancestor that left Western Virginia, and fled to Ohio with his family to join the Union Army when the war broke out. He was a Methodist Minister and an ardent and outspoken abolishionist. He was known for his firey speeches, and his ruthlessness. I saw an old newspaper article in which he claimed he truly believed he was "......doing Gods work upon the field of battle.".

I made the mistake of telling someone this once and got the reply; "So not only are you a goddamn Yankee, but you're great-grand daddy was a goddamned traitor as well?!"

Some people just can't let go, I guess.

Dave

Ya know, thinking can be dangerous.

I think all of us agree that slavery is morally wrong. I was just struck by the quote from your ancestor that he was "doing God's work upon the field of battle." I am trying to put that quote in perspective in light of our recent thread about religious extremism, the stories about the arrests of the religious militia, and my repeated concern about the "oath-keepers." Are we more tolerant of mixing religion and politics when we agree with the beliefs or aims of those expressing religious motivation for their acts? (For example, the prominent role that black churches played in the civil right movement) If what people are doing is just in our eyes, do we need to be concerned with their motivation?

At this point I don't pretend to offer any answers - just food for thought. Indeed, I need to question my earlier statement that I wanted to "reclaim the meaning of Christianity from the religious right." While that might be a socially or religiously important goal, I now question it's value as a political goal.

P.S. Not picking on your ancestor, Dave. This is really more a matter of questioning myself.

Regards,

D-Ray

[merrylander]

In the course of searching for ancestors I discovered a distant cousin, same name as me, who fought on the Union side in the civil war. Also all the easern families of the same surname as myself (though I believe they all came from a different part of England and they added an e to the end of their name, summat like the Smiths who spell it Smyth) and many of them were slave owners. I hold no brief for either side as I don't see that much of a moral difference between a slave owner and a carpet bagger.

[finnbow]

It seems McDonnell stepped in it again. This time, he's talking about requiring felons who have completed their sentences to write a letter making the case that they have contributed adequately to society since their release before they regain the right to vote (a right that 48 states and DC restore immediately after a sentence is fulfilled). Then the state will apply some arbitrary standard to decide whether the essay is good enough. This smacks of a Jim Crow literacy test and has people up in arms again in the Old Dominion.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by merrylander

I don't see that much of a moral difference between a slave owner and a carpet bagger.

You cannot be serious...

"carpetbaggers were seen as insidious Northern outsiders with questionable objectives meddling in local politics, buying up plantations at fire-sale prices, taking advantage of poor Southerners and pushing their alien Northern ways on Southern politics."

To wit, "questionable objectives."

Wow. That's equal to slavery...

I'm forced to disagree on this one...

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by finnbow

It seems McDonnell stepped in it again. This time, he's talking about requiring felons who have completed their sentences to write a letter making the case that they have contributed adequately to society since their release before they regain the right to vote (a right that 48 states and DC restore immediately after a sentence is fulfilled). Then the state will apply some arbitrary standard to decide whether the essay is good enough. This smacks of a Jim Crow literacy test and has people up in arms again in the Old Dominion.

That makes the previous celebration of the Confederacy a bit more relevant. Is he up for reelection this November, and is the right wing that much in control of VA politics? Does he face a primary challenge from the right? How cynical are we?

Regards,

D-Ray