From another Southern Male…. The Author has some things right and some things very wrong. Foremost, he is mired in the current day view of history rather than making any attempt to view the issue in the context of their time. The author states correctly that the civil war was not JUST about states rights. However, he states incorrectly that it was JUST about slavery. The overwhelming majority of those fighting for the South did not own slaves. That is not necessarily Germain to the argument because we can all now agree that the institution of slavery was and is evil and needed to end. I suppose my point is this, how would we view an issue in the distant future that is, frankly, the way things have always been? For example, lets say in 150 years the west coast states decide that the practice of owning pets violates their rights and it should be illegal. Suppose the Government dictates that all pets need to be released. Suppose that some people who are particularly fond of their pets refuse and revolt against an overreaching government. These nasty pet owners are defeated and our great, great, grandchildren lament at how terrible pet owners were and some even abused their pets and anyone who ever owned a pet should be erased from history. This is EXACTLY where we are today.
Clearly people are not pets and should never have been treated as property. Unfortunately, it seems a large number of people think the US South invented Slavery. Slavery is literally as old as mankind. I cant think of a single civilization that has not had some form of slavery in its past. Slavery even exists today. I think there is certainly a discussion to be had in a free democracy about any and all statues on public land. I would vote NO to removing Confederate Memorials. The reason is because the statues do not stand for Slavery to me. They represent our incredible ability to overcome an institution as old and as evil as slavery, to re-unite with dignity and go on to create the most prosperous nation the world has ever known. Its ironic to me that the men who won the actual war with the South, dictated the terms of surrender. They could have chosen to force the South to remove things that honor their soldiers, taken their guns, prohibited statues and any number of other punitive terms. They did not. The wise men of the time realized that seeking to take such things would lead to division, and animosity. They realized that we are moving forward and need to be reminded of our past. They realized we are stronger together than divided. They seem to have been much wiser than we are today.
