The destruction of historical Confederate monuments in New Orleans has begun. Yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, the Liberty monument was dismantled by a crew who wore masks and bullet-proof vests. They were watched over by snipers on rooftops, in case some violent Southern patriot showed up to protest. They need not have worried. Most Southern patriots know that their jobs would be in jeopardy if they showed up to protest the removal of a Confederate monument. Political correctness only offers freedom of speech to those on the left side of the political spectrum. Nonetheless, there were a few brave, but law-abiding, Southern patriots who showed up with candles to mourn the monument's removal. Most of them had gray hair.
Ever since Lee surrendered at Appomattox, it has been assumed by many that this love for the South and its devotion to freedom and limited government would eventually disappear as the generations who remembered the war of 1861 died off. They were disappointed in their assumptions, but they continue to hope. Recently, a prominent celebrity opined that the world will be a better place as soon as the current generation of old Southern white people are dead. This celebrity is one of the elect who is allowed free speech.
This state of affairs is often blamed on Yankees and other outsiders, but I don't think that's quite right. I know Northerners (I won't call them Yankees) and immigrants (legal ones) who hold the South and its values in high esteem. And there are native Southerners who worship at the altar of political correctness. Many of those hold positions of power like the mayor of New Orleans.
Some try to say this is strictly a racial issue, and certainly race is a factor; but to think that it is all explained away by race is to oversimplify the situation. There are blacks who have joined the efforts to preserve the Confederate battle flag and Confederate monuments. And, at the same time, these Confederate symbols have as many or more enemies among whites as among blacks.
No matter where you stand on this state of affairs, you can be sure that it will not be resolved any time soon. Those who hope for the end of the Confederate spirit with each passing generation are always disappointed. You can suppress truth, even for long periods of time - but you cannot kill it.
1 comment:
I agree with what you say in the sense that its not just Northerners or transients that are wanting to destroy the culture and history of the South. Its actually some of the native Southerners themselves. What a travesty! These people have been indoctrinated to the point where they cannot tell right from wrong anymore. I befriend northerners who love and appreciate the South and the culture and the history that goes with it. These are Northerners. There is definitely a difference between a Northerner, a Yankee, and a dare-I-say "damned" Yankee. My grandfather taught me this too.
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