Great visionaries realize that seminal moments in a man’s life are apt to be not what is expected. The high honor, the ascension to power, the great victory—all of those decisive events—when viewed in retrospect pale into insignificance when compared to some small moment of decision which the individual in question might not even recall. Indeed, this is one of the reasons that we fallible human beings often fail that great test to which our Creator puts us: we simply don’t recognize it for what it is. These moments are what the great Christian apologist, C. S. Lewis referred to as “the original good;” that is, what God intended for the best possible outcome not only for that person’s life but of all of creation through that person’s action. When these moment’s are missed, it is a tragedy of the highest order and only God’s ability to “make do” with a lesser good (should that not be also ignored), allows any hope of humanity’s deliverance.
However, though such moments are often obscure, there are certain tell-tale signs that to the alert and watchful indicate their presence. One such sign is the matter of truth. For of all the conflicts and struggles in our lives, any that involve truth must be considered of far greater importance—whatever is involved—than even matters of the fundamentals of faith, hope and charity. Truth is the requisite of all good. In Scripture, Christ calls the devil, “a liar and a murderer from the beginning.” Notice the He puts “liar” first. That is because the liar “murders” truth and Christ says of Himself, “I am the Truth…” Therefore, matters involving truth—however apparently inconsequential—are matters that transcend the legal and even, at times, the moral.
Neither is it necessary for “the truth” to be altogether agreed upon. Under certain conditions, different people can honestly find different truths from the same set of facts. The facts cannot be denied, but often honest men will disagree upon what those facts represent. On the other hand, it is an entirely different thing when men determine that the facts will not be disclosed or that they will be disclosed in such a way as to arrive at a pre-determined conclusion which has little or nothing to do with “truth.” In such instances, the criteria is to present to the public a desired scenario “and the truth be damned.” And that, Governor McDonnell, is where you—and Virginia—stand today.
The State of Virginia (unfortunately) created a Sesquicentennial Commission which has decided that nothing of the Confederacy will be included in the “festivities” save only that which can be connected to the politically correct view of the issue of slavery and the War. Now on its face, the entire push to make slavery the issue of the Sesquicentennial is not only false, but intentional demagoguery designed to destroy every last vestige of Southern heritage and history. The signs are unmistakable, the agenda undeniable, the methods unconscionable and the end result unethical, unconstitutional and un-American. How this “Commission” can forbid any Confederate involvement, re-enactments, celebrations, memorials and even comments on its web-site (someone is actually hired to remove any such that may be posted!), makes any rational person wonder what in the Name of God is happening in Virginia?! Are these bean-counting bureaucrats and politically correct know-nothings going to ignore or revile Lee, Jackson, Stuart, Pelham and the rest?! Were First and Second Manassas and Chancellorsville Confederate defeats? What will these people give Virginians in return? Sheridan? (God forbid!) Black Dave Hunter? (Worse still!) or perhaps Lincoln whose call for troops to commit treason against South Carolina drove Virginia out of the Union in the first place!
Gov. McDonnell, an obscure but seminal moment is upon you. You can ignore this matter as a trifle in these days of immanent political and economic disaster, or you can take this opportunity that God gives to you to do “the original good” rather than let the chance pass you by. However, I might point out something while you consider the matter: if Virginia and the Confederacy had prevailed and Jefferson’s vision of a government acting upon the consent of the governed had been victorious, perhaps the current “crisis” in Washington would not be upon us—or, even if it were, it would not be upon the people of Virginia and the South.
I beg of you to step in and put an end to state sponsored censorship and lies. Let the voices of history speak untrammeled by the lies of Marxist revisionism.
George, go to Facebook's Southern Heritage Preservation group and look for the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission. The matter is discussed there in great detail.
Bravo! Bravo! I applaud your attempt to insist on Virginia's Governor McDonnell to face Virginia's historical truth, and provide for the free expression of all viewpoints re: the 150th Sesquicentennial Observance of the War for Southern Independence. How in the name of truth and honesty, the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission can decide not to permit anything re: the Confederacy to be presented during the commemoration of the Sesquicentennial is beyond my comprehension. As governor, McDonnell should unhesitatingly step-in and insist on an historical and accurate representation of Virginia's invaluable contribution to the fight for a people's right to "consent of the governed". This is most definitely not the time to be worrying about whether this is "politically correct" or not...it is the time to support full disclosure of the facts, and to depend on the truth for clarity of the issues involved. How McDonnell can be a party to the movement to distance contemporary Virginia from the contributions and sacrifices of such revered Confederate leaders as Lee, Jackson, Stuart, Pelham, and yes, Mosby and his Rangers, is a sacrilege beyond bounds!
I am well aware that the issue of slavery cannot be ignored, nor should it be, but it must be presented in proper context to the overall complex (and often confusing) events that eventually lead to actual war between the North and the South. The slavery issue must not be permitted to overshadow the entire timeperiod, and to be used as a "protective shield" for Northerners to hide behind, when confronted with their unconstitutional and unethical use of force to "preserve" a Union that was supposed to be a union of choice...not force. Each and every death caused by the war is on the shoulders and consciences of those Northerners, who were unwilling to respect the right of their "sister States" to exercise their inherent right to choose the government they wanted to live under...just as their forefathers had done in Revolutionary America. There is no excuse for their choice to go to war against people who only wanted to be left alone, and there is no way on earth that they can ever repay those who lost so much...their heritage.
The actual issue was not slavery. The actual issue was what to do with the slaves. NO white man of that day believed that the black man could live as an equal in society. The Northern states had closed off any movement of blacks AT ALL into those states and territories which left only the South and if slavery ended - at least without one or two generations' preparation - there would be (and was) chaos.
And anyone who believes that this problem is solved today had better look around at the various race riots taking place (which are being hidden by the media) in places like New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin and a great many other places (see Britain). These are blacks attacking whites but that is not politically correct so we are told that some witnesses are "alleging" black on white crime. The police seem impotent. Why? Because to attack a black mob is to open oneself to all manner of personal attacks and even legal action. So the cops look the other way. Meanwhile, the same situation that existed during reconstruction (black violence and the failure of the authorities to act) and led to the rising of the Ku Klux Klan (a vigilante group) is coming to pass again - and may have the same unfortunate results. Thus years of what had been racial tolerance is being replaced with racial violence and calls into question once again the idea that the "liberation" of the black slave was to everyone's benefit. Sadly, it even calls into question the original assumption of men like Lincoln that blacks cannot live in peace with whites.
I couldn't agree more! I have personally seen the most insidious form of racism...defacto segregation...thrive in the North, and continue to successfully deny minorities various opportunities (tradionally retained by whites), without any end to this practice in sight. I consider defacto segregation to be more "evil" than any form of racial discrimination in the Southern States, because defacto segregation is not part of any "official" legal ruling, and thus cannot be challenged in a court of law. For example, defacto segregation is evident in every suburb built without sidewalks on the residential streets (or some form of public transportation), since people who move to the suburbs don't want anyone living among them who is too poor to own an automobile. Another contemporary example of defacto segregation is the "gated community" where only those who are considered "acceptable" are permitted to purchase property there. Of course, the guidelines relevant to selecting the prospective property owners do not mention the subject of "race", but it is definitely "implied" in the selection process.
Re: claiming slavery as the only reason for secession and the war...My theory re: the insistence of the majority of contemporary historians (that slavery was the one and only reason for secession and the eventual war) is to provide Northerners with a "feel good" excuse for 1) failing to "live-up" to one of the basic tenets upon which our form of government is based i.e. "consent of the governed" , thus refusing to acknowledge Southern Americans' right to exercise said tenet, and 2) destroying the Southern economy, culture, and heritage by waging an unwarranted war on people who wanted to attempt to re-establish a limited constitutional government...as they believed was the intent of the Founding Fathers. How can any American find fault with the goal of the Southern people, IF they are told the whole truth...and not just "brainwashed" with the repetitive chant that the South was only fighting to keep slaves...which was legally permitted under the federal Constitution in the first place?
I also believe that there should be a national program to display some type of signage on all government buildings (both State and federal) that were built with slave labor...in the North and the South. Maybe by actually seeing the places where slave labor was used, people would have to understand the fact that slavery existed in the Northern States as well as in the Southern States. They would have to admit that slavery was an American problem, not just a Southern one. JMHO.
