Carry me back....

I like my Stonewall Jackson coffee mug.

On a gorgeous Spring day, much like today, I took my daughter to a roadside attraction in Berryville, Virginia, called "Dinoland U.S.A." It was a fun little park with large foam models of dinosaurs and other assorted creatures that the kids could run around and actually touch. We had a blast, ate junk food, it was fun.

The gift shop (of course, there must be a gift shop) contained Dinoland items, t-shirts offering many clever slogans, and quite a bit of Confederate States bric-a-brac. Since I was a practicing Attorney at the time, I picked up the above mug, and got my Dad (a partner at the firm) a General Robert E. Lee mug - he was the General and I was his strong right arm.

Full disclosure: my Daddy's a Southerner by birth. Mom's a Yankee. We're a little confused on this stuff. Shelby Foote once said every Southern boy dreams of going back in time and fighting for General Lee. I don't know, my dad said nothing of the sort.

So, last week the brilliant Governor of Virginia reinstates "Confederate History month" so that Virginians can celebrate....what, exactly? Losing a bitter civil war? Defending the immoral "business model" of a slave-based economy? No one really knows why, he issued a banal statement about "their cause" but was not very clear. It's better, of course, to muddy the waters and celebrate something ambiguous....lest you kick a hornet's nest.

Well, that happened anyway. And to his credit Governor McDonnell issued an apology for the omission of the existence of slavery. Yes, he was denounced by several left-of-center types and his apology was probably denounced (though I never heard it) by the right-of-center types. One columnist, I think it was a fellow named Roland Martin, described the confederate cause as "domestic terrorism."

Was it?

It raises an interesting point, though I'm not certain it's accurate. On the one hand, it sounds like a left-wing nut trying to stab at the right with his caustic pen. On the other hand, isn't that something like the truth? Didn't Booth assassinate Lincoln, all for the Southern "cause."

I doubt the guys and gals who make a point of flying the Confederate flag see their "boys" as- historically speaking, anyway - domestic terrorists.

I think the distinction lies in the manner of the conflict. They were rebels, not terrorists. The general point I'm trying to make is simple: the Confederate states seceded, raised an Army, and made war against the Union's Army. They didn't blow up airplanes or subway systems, they didn't attack the general populace of the Northern states in order to effectuate an end to the war. I am certain that there were incidents where Confederate soldiers acted less than admirably. There are many stories from the US Civil War that demonstrate the Union Army's lack of civility as well. It was, after all, a war. But accusing them of employing "terror" as a weapon does not seem to be based upon anything more than inflammatory language.

The Confederate army was led by many capable officers, like Lee and Jackson. They've been lionized for their fealty to the cause. In a sense, however, this gives them a free pass. They were, for their time, eminently civilized and perhaps believed that they were good men fighting for their State's rights. Perhaps they were in fact good men - no one's left who knew them. But I will never agree that their cause was anything more than protection of the immoral status quo of African slavery. They, and the men they commanded, were ready to fight and die in order to keep things just the way they were.

These men were rebels, traitors, and deserve next to no recognition for the long and bloody war which they helped prolong. Fly your stupid loser flag if you want to and call it free speech, but don't be surprised if it upsets folks - I'm sure that's the reaction you wanted anyway. Just remember, you still lost.