The Sesquicentennial

[JohnGalt]

Today is an historic date, indeed. 150 years ago today, perhaps the most controversial episode in American history began. I imagine as the more popularized dates come to pass, The Sesquicentennial will gain its due exposure.

To Remembrance.

Dum Spiro Spero.
Deo Vindice.

[Duvall]

Deo Vindice.

And yet, oddly enough, He didn't.

[El_Diablo]

E pluribus unum.

[JohnGalt]

E pluribus unum.

Amen.

[Johnboy]

I just got a little chuckle after reading this thread, looking on the board and then seeing another thread entitled "Lee says thanks but no thanks to Yankees . . ."

[gotoguy]

Today is an historic date, indeed. 150 years ago today, perhaps the most controversial episode in American history began. I imagine as the more popularized dates come to pass, The Sesquicentennial will gain its due exposure.

To Remembrance.

Dum Spiro Spero.
Deo Vindice.

Some folks around here refer to it as "The recent unpleasantness"

[Deslok]

Some folks around here refer to it as "The recent unpleasantness"

That's what all baseball fans outside of NYC refers to things when the Yankees win the wa... World Series.

[Jarhead]

The thing that is so sad about this is that they are celebrating the start of the Civil War. If there is any celebrating to be done, it should be for the end of the Civil War...
And slavery.

[Mal]

The thing that is so sad about this is that they are celebrating the start of the Civil War. If there is any celebrating to be done, it should be for the end of the Civil War...
And slavery.

Seriously. I don't think Germans mark anniversaries of the 1939 invasion of Poland, do they?

Let's hope we don't have to look forward to a "commemoration" or "observance" of Stephens's Cornerstone Speech next year, too.

[Jarhead]

Seriously. I don't think Germans mark anniversaries of the 1939 invasion of Poland, do they?

Let's hope we don't have to look forward to a "commemoration" or "observance" of Stephens's Cornerstone Speech next year, too.

Thanks for the reminder. The Cornerstone Speech has not crossed my mind since my days on the Duke Campus. That's a really long time ago. Discussing that, though, would surely get us in PPB territory.

[JohnGalt]

The thing that is so sad about this is that they are celebrating the start of the Civil War. If there is any celebrating to be done, it should be for the end of the Civil War...
And slavery.

So you're suggesting we should celebrate the life of Robert E Lee then, correct?

Forgive me, but this is the exact line of the reasoning that perpetuates the "sadness" (if that's indeed how it's known around the country).

It's important for some to remember, and to remember in a way that doesn't place the lives of 620,000 men, women, and children 100% squarely on the shoulders of one side, all the while deifying the other. Because that's how it's generally taught.

I may get dinged since I really have no idea where history stops and PPB begins or vice versa.

But I had to get that out. Carry on.

[Jarhead]

So you're suggesting we should celebrate the life of Robert E Lee then, correct?

Forgive me, but this is the exact line of the reasoning that perpetuates the "sadness" (if that's indeed how it's known around the country).

It's important for some to remember, and to remember in a way that doesn't place the lives of 620,000 men, women, and children 100% squarely on the shoulders of one side, all the while deifying the other. Because that's how it's generally taught.

I may get dinged since I really have no idea where history stops and PPB begins or vice versa.

But I had to get that out. Carry on.

As a boy growing up in Alexandria, VA. I walked the same streets that Robert E. Lee walked when he was a boy. No, I wasn't suggesting that we celebrate his life, but I have no problem holding him in high regard. He was not a politician. He was a soldier, and I would guess that he took no pleasure in fighting that war.

It seems to me that we as a nation have never celebrated the start of a war, but some of us have celebrated the start of the Civil War. That's my gripe. How can any of us celebrate the start of a war that was defending the institution of slavery, and sacrificing the lives of many thousands of American young men in the process. However, if the war had not been won by the Union forces the northern border of Mexico could easily have been on the banks of the Potomac River.

My advice to anyone who wishes to celebrate the start of that war is this. The South lost the war. Get over it.

[Duvall]

It's important for some to remember, and to remember in a way that doesn't place the lives of 620,000 men, women, and children 100% squarely on the shoulders of one side, all the while deifying the other.

Why?

Because that's how it's generally taught.

Not really, no. Not nearly enough.