SHOULD WE HONOR THOSE WHO FOUGHT TO OWN SLAVES?

Yesterday was Confederate Memorial Day. Groups dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Civil War took to grave yards yesterday to mark the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers. One such group was Daughters of The Confederacy.

Now I understand the need to honor the dead especially when those dead are your ancestors. But I do not understand the notion of honoring a group of people who decided to secede from the United States rather than give up owning slaves. I also don’t agree with using a flag that has come to represent slavery and racism as the symbol you use to honor those soldiers. There are many Confederate Flags to choose from, many of which are not so polarized and racist.

It’s interesting that we have come to a place where glorifying Nazi’s is considered to extreme and is universally frowned upon and yet we tolerate people glorifying those who fought to maintain legalized slavery in the United States.

I’d like to end with this piece of history:

“Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”

– Vice-President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens

Sigh.

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