The Confederacy

I've been a student of the Civil War since attending National War College in 1996-97.  Attending was a wonderful experience and the education I received was unbelievable.  I will be forever grateful for the Navy sending me there.  One of the side benefits was that the school had several great classes that students could take for interest and enlightenment.  By far the best one I took was a class on the Civil War.  Up until then I hadn't thought too much about that period in our history.  After all, I was from Southern California.  The relevance just didn't ever seem very real.  But a funny thing happened.  The more I studied, the more battlefields I visited, the more museums and memorials I spent hours in, the more information and understanding I wanted.  It was a craving.  I read almost everything I could get my hands on.  The book that was used to teach the course was "The Battle Cry of Freedom" by James McCormack.  If there is one book to read about the Civil War, that is it.  It is comprehensive and very readable.  That course, that book, that opportunity to immerse myself in that period in our history caused me to continue to seek more information, more insight, and most importantly, more understanding.

The truth is that the Civil War was the single most important event in our history.  It brought to a head the differences between the industrial North and the agricultural South.  And not just differences, but resentments, recriminations.  It shined a spotlight on the issue of State's rights.  That is an issue that continues today.  What falls to the State, what is the responsibility of the Federal government?   It brought the issue of slavery to the forefront of our national life.  The scourge of slavery was finally at the forefront of our consciousness and we had to do something about it.  At least that is what many in the North thought.  It caused neighbor to fight neighbor, relative to fight relative, and resulted in more deaths than imaginable.  We did this to each other.  Willingly.  To look back on it through the lens of history it is almost unimaginable.  But that is the case with many historical events, isn't it.  We sit here with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight and ask...how could they do that?  But they did.

I say that the Civil War was the single most important event in our history because of one man.  Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln was easily the greatest President in our history.  Put simply, he saved the Union.  He never gave up.  He continued fighting to save the Union when all appeared lost.  He emancipated the slaves when no one thought it could be done.  If you doubt his greatness I only need to refer you to two simple speeches.  Go check out The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address.  They are masterpieces.  They stand the test of time.  They inspire us.  For my money this sentence contains the most inspiring words in our history and formed the basis for the country moving forward up to this day..."With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

When looking objectively at both sides, there were heroic figures beyond measure.  The names on both sides that are carved on monuments, enshrined in museums, and revered by some who venerate this history are numerous.  Yes the heroes were on both sides.  If you look back with our hindsight, you could easily say that the Confederates were traitors.  That they deserve to be cast out.  To be shunned and obliterated.  But it's not as easy as that.  They were our countrymen.  And in a country that was barely 85 years old the loyalties that we experience today were not as deep as they are today.  So I don't think that we can look back and take down or obliterate a monument to a man or battle based on no liking or agreeing with it.  There is a bit of hysteria gripping many people and communities after what happened last week in Charleston to remove monuments and statues that commemorate Confederate soldiers and battles.  But I don't think we can casually dismiss the sentiments and dedication of so many of our countrymen, even though they followed their hearts to flight for the Confederacy.  Every situation was tortured.  I say leave the statues and memorials alone.   They serve to remind us of what terrible things can happen.

Which brings me to the Confederate Battle Flag.  That flag was a symbol for heroes.  It was a symbol for honor.  It was a symbol really for a way of life.  The key word is was.  Unfortunately that flag was compromised decades ago.  It now symbolizes hate for many.  The massacre in Charleston last week has raised the issue to a new level.  And it has caused many to examine their feelings.  I'm happy to see that the prevailing opinion seems to be to get rid of it.  It is also used for nefarious political purposes.  Quite simply, it has to go.  Put it in a museum.  Realize what it meant at one time.  But it has to go.  Take it down from government buildings.  Get it off license plates.  Just be done with it.  It is 2015.  The flag was yesterday.  We have to move to tomorrow.

UPDATE:  In this morning's WSJ, Peggy Noonan knocks it out of the park.  Her writing always resonates with me and today particularly so.  You can read it here.