The Virginia Supreme Court just okayed taking down statues to Confederate generals.
I get why people support taking them down but the vitriol involved bothers me. Yes, the whole Civil War was terrible. These men fought for the continuation of slavery. I get it.
But I also know that they fought for their state in a time before we thought of ourselves in the same terms we do know. Your state, your county - these were extremely important. The land of your birth was a lot more localized then, before the War. I also know that these generals often provided spectacular examples of courage under fire, and grace in defeat. Some didn't, sure, but many did what they did out of a sense of loyalty to the people they grew up with, however misguided the overall cause of slavery.
And they gave a defeated and beaten section of the country something to feel good about, no small thing after a civil war, which can often simmer for generations. It helped, being able to point to something that made you feel proud. ****, the soldiers at the time often cheered their enemies for marvelous displays of courage under fire.
So maybe the time for these statues is past and they need to go. But I don't like to see them caught up in today's hyper partisan war. They fought their own war. I'd really like to see cooler heads emerge on this subject so we can maybe find a way to honor these generals without also seeming to be insensitive to people's needs today. I don't think it is quite so easy to say "they fought for slavery, they were traitors". They fought for many things, but I bet foremost in their minds would have been for their state, right or wrong. That sort of example of loyalty is worth remembering even while we recognize their flaws.
And don't get me going on taking down statues to Washington or Jefferson. Totally against that.