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Black Lives Matter
Confederate Flags and Memorials
Does History Matter
Scars of a Nation
An attempt to erase history
From the Editor
Scrap the politically correct nonsense. Call it many things,
but we must all know that our history is currently engaged in a full-scale war by those who just don't like it. If some
people could do it, seriously, they would grab the computer and forcefully maneuver the
mouse to the position where the arrow would hover and allow them to click and delete the history of the United States. And
they would do it because they just don't like it.
Nations have been overwhelmingly
founded by wars, and let's be candid, wars are damn ugly. While racist statements have recently been painted and splashed
upon an unknown number of American statues and memorials and even headstones, namely Confederate, one can only wonder how
far the criminal actions of a few will go.
Black lives matter, but does
history matter? Do the Union lives, 350,000 plus dead, matter as they not only fought and died for the rights of all
people, but had even reached into their very own pockets to help fund many of the Rebel monuments and memorials
that are now under a vicious attack by criminals. And what gives anyone the right to think that they can trample and trash
the nation's history, just because they don't agree with it. Did you know that the Federal government has passed
laws stating that Confederate
and Union Veterans are equal? Did you also know that the U.S. government pays for and maintains
Confederate headstones?
In addition to Black Lives Matter, the politically correct crowd has its work cut out, however.
Because practically every single nation under the sun was established under other than congenial circumstances, we can actually
take a glimpse into what we could expect right here in the United States if the politically correct folks have it their way.
Let us begin with the American Revolution. Need to remove all the reminders of the British, so
Yorktown and Williamsburg, for instance, will only show the presence of the Rebels, the name given to the colonists by
the British and proudly worn by those who received it. Next is Texas. Erase all the statues and namesakes of Sam
Houston, Crockett, Austin, Bowie and so on. Why, because it is not acceptable to Mexican-Americans. The Mexican-American
War. Shall we give back to Mexico nearly half of the United States, because we really did start a war with Mexico so we
could carve out from Texas to California to Colorado and have a nation from sea to shining sea. An unjust war, according
to U.S. Grant, a young officer who had fought the Mexicans, but later served as the 18th U.S. President. Vietnam War. Many
opposed it, so shall we knock down the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to enable them to put on the happy face?
Are you catching on, the country was founded and shaped by war, and if we now try to appease
everyone, which will never happen by the way, then we no longer have a nation, period. If you still have doubt, then
think about the indigenous inhabitants of this continent, the Native Americans. Now just the thought of it removes practically
every American from the hemisphere. Lastly, we are left with a hollow shell of what makes this nation great. It's us. It's
you. It's your story, your journey, your America, told and retold by millions upon millions.
It's what makes us great, so try and remember that the next time you hear about someone defacing and removing it forever.
Remove it all and then what remains—nothing. And nothing doesn't have a story and it doesn't have an audience.
Our forefathers who took a position on each side
of the coin, meaning Union and Confederate, erected monuments and memorials to honor and remember
the men who had fought, bled, and died during the Civil War (1861-1865). Many of these monuments were created and funded
jointly by the very citizens who had fought on opposite sides of the conflict. Imagine, they fought and killed each other,
then afterwards they shook hands and assisted the other in paying for and building monuments and memorials. They fought in
the war, so they didn't need all the granite and marble structures to remember that. They build these edifices for us,
they established them for our children, and believe it or not, they never wished for any of us to pick and choose a side
or to think about which side was just. They understood that the war was over, and they hoped that the memorials would serve
to remind the living about how this nation was conceived, how it was built and how it had evolved. That is the meaning
of the word memorial.
In addition to the immense sacrifices of the men and women who
had helped shape our nation, the statues and monuments also serve as reminders of what our nation was and what our
nation has become. So who are we and what gives any of us the right to desecrate and defile the actions
and wishes of men who had fought and killed each other, only to honor the other
after the final shot was fired.
At least 620,000 Americans died
in the Civil War, which was roughly 2% of the population of the United States. No matter which version of history you
espouse, the bottom line is that the soldier of the late American Civil War was your average man. On either side of the
war, these men were still Americans and should have their memories honored. The hysteria of removing all things Confederate
defies logic, it defies reason, but to deface from city to federal property is simply criminal.
Under the guise of Civil Rights, the criminals have and continue
to commit felonious acts. From vandalizing locally and federally owned Confederate monuments to digging up the graves of
the fallen in private cemeteries, the so-called pc crowd has traversed some twisted terrain and tramped on the history
of a nation. The vandals, under the cloak of Black Lives Matter, have announced themselves the new tyranny and have donned
the hat of judge, jury, and executioner.
What makes this so cowardly is that these vandals commit their acts in secrecy, while hiding
behind the paint can and hammer. They destroy and dishonor, and they refuse to perpetrate their deeds openly before the
public. Whether or not one agrees with Rebel obelisks and statues is another thing, but at least the Confederate and
Union men who sacrificed everything, settled their disagreements in the open and on the fields of battle. If the actions of
anyone in the Black Lives Matter movement are true and just, then they should proudly commit to it publicly and before a live
audience. What do they expect. Do the villains really think that the end result is going to be in their favor, because criminal
deeds are most certainly met with punishments that fit the crime.
The beat goes on. We live in an age that is now banning Confederate
license plates and disavowing Rebel flags on graves. Need anyone require a reminder that more than 350,000 men in blue
died while fighting to preserve the Union and its liberties. The Civil War was also a rich man's war and a poor man's
fight. Just as most Northerners did not fight to end slavery, most Southerners did not fight to preserve it. In 1904 the Confederate
monument in Gainesville was erected. In attendance were both Union and Confederate Veterans who supported the monument and those
who embraced one another in mutual respect as fellow Americans. It was just one of hundreds of such events unfolding at the
turn of the century as the remaining vets of the war were fading into the memories that they had left for us. Their
collective actions with the raising of each monument and obelisk were a concerted push to leave their legacy for
you and yours.
We, the living, now enjoy immense freedoms and
liberties because of their last full measure of sacrifice.
Now there is a media fueled witch hunt to demonize and remove historical
monuments and to rob future generations of what this nation went through to become what it now is. Removing monuments
does not end racism it only dishonors the American soldiers who died to preserve the freedoms we now enjoy. We can learn a
lot from history and learn absolutely nothing by erasing it.
Let's think about the message that the veterans
of the Civil War are saying to us with the memories they left us in the memorials they built for us. And remember that if
all the monuments of the era are pulled down and removed from the face of the
earth, what is to say and who is to keep the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from becoming the next target, or who
is to refrain the hell bent individual from bulldozing the Alamo into a pile of rubble. And who, me, you, exactly
who among us has the right to dishonor and desecrate the memories of the very men who had fought and died
in a civil war for the way of life that we now live to enjoy?
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