How is it that we have allowed racists and white supremacists
to be the defenders of history? This is
absolutely intolerable. There are a lot
of people out there who respect our heritage and yet, want nothing to do with
the hate filled morons who are out there defending it.
Before I get into the current discussion, let’s digress a
bit and make an analogy. Do you have a
relative whom you admire and respect, in spite of the fact that they didn’t
always do the right thing? Perhaps you
have a relative who lived a good life and did a lot of good things but at one
point, may have committed a crime or was unfaithful to a spouse. Maybe this person inspired you to be a better
person. Perhaps this person gave you a
chance when others didn’t. Does the fact
that they had imperfections mean you will not memorialize them? Would you not pay your respects upon their death? Would you focus upon what this person did
wrong at their funeral?
Of course you wouldn’t.
You wouldn’t hide from the wrongs and if you are smart, you would even
learn from those shortcomings. You would
also look at what that person did right and how they helped shape who you are
today. You would try to emulate the good
while at the same time, avoid the bad, because that is what healthy adults
do.
None of this is what is happening as a nation today. There is a substantial portion of the
population who want to completely erase the past. They are so filled with hate, resentment and
rage that they can’t see that people like Robert E. Lee actually were pretty
amazing people. They can’t see that some of the positions of Southern States
were fairly reasonable. They miss the
fact that rural, agrarian culture is very different than urban culture and preservation
of that culture is just as valid as any other cultural goal.
On the other side, there are also hate filled people who are
delusional and actually embrace the worst parts of our past. They don’t just overlook the evils of slavery
and bigotry, but lament its passing. Like
those opposing them, they are filled with rage, fear and ignorance.
Unfortunately, the white supremacists have passion that is
lacking in many others. Because they have
such passion, they will show up to demonstrations in support of keeping our
national heritage intact. They take up
the symbols that were valuable to many and corrupt them in the process.
It is beyond irritating that the KKK and their ilk are forever
associated with defending Southern history.
It should not be that way. As a
nation, we need the adults to take over and admit that the Confederate South
wasn’t all wrong yet wasn’t all right either.
It should be possible to have an honest discussion where we confront the
evils of racism while still acknowledging that not everything they stood for
was wrong.
That national discussion will never happen though. It will not happen because it isn’t in the
interest of some very powerful groups to have that discussion. In addition to the things that were wrong
(slavery and racism), there was a lot that made sense in the Confederacy.
The idea of limited federal government, adherence to the 9th
and 10th Amendments to the Constitution, free trade and the concept
of rugged individualism are all embodied in the culture of the South. Any of those sound familiar? It should because those are the foundations
of the modern conservative movement. Those
concepts are also threatening to modern liberalism which is why there is such a
concerted effort to attach the rest of the Confederacy to conservatism as well.
Because modern liberalism, aided and abetted by the dominant
media, see these things as threats, they have hung the albatross of the KKK and
white supremacists around the neck of conservatism. The white supremacists seem all too happy to
have their wagon hitched to the success of the Tea Party and gladly accept the
link. Meanwhile, conservatives can’t
seem to figure out how to agree with some, but not all positions of the
so-called “alt-right.”
It all just makes me sad. History needs to be preserved and
there is social benefit to having heroes, even if the heroes were flawed. We should be able to talk about the flaws
without destroying what was good. I pray
that we are able to figure this out as a nation without sliding back into the
divisions that lead to our first civil war.
