Fine line between 'history' and 'heritage' in Confederate symbols
updated July 16, 2015 at 1:00 PM
By Dr. Jess Brown, professor of government and public affairs at Athens State University
... As southerners, why do we "cheerlead" or honor Mr. Lee and his military associates and the political leaders of the Confederacy, such as Jefferson Davis? Many of them took oaths and swore to Almighty God to defend the U.S. Constitution and then arguably violated those oaths by seeking destruction of the government created by it.
Do we desire the outcomes for which they fought? As evidenced by the articles of secession from the various states, they sought to destroy the federal Union and preserve the institution of slavery, an institution that had been largely rebuked by the rest of the civilized world by the mid-19th Century. The claim that secession was about states' right must be followed with the following query: states' rights to do what?
Do we honor people because they fought courageously, against the odds, for a cause which they believed, at the time, was right? Or, does each generation, to include our own, get to benefit from the knowledge and value of retrospection, and in doing so, decide who and what should be honored?
Do we honor people and causes using government property solely because we can trace our blood lines to them and do we ask respectfully how they would want to be honored? Perhaps loyalty to lineage and personal commemorations justify the placement of Confederate battle flags on the graves of Confederate veterans, but does it justify celebrating the overall Confederate cause? ...
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/07/theres_a_fine_line_between_his.html
