It really wouldn't have done the nation any good to round 'em all up and hang them, although that probably would have made Confederate revisionists less noisy.
You can look at places like Iraq to see what happens when one side trashes the other ~ they never forget!
But they tend to remember in different ways and express earned respect differently. For example, General Robert E. Lee is honored at the hallowed ground of Arlington in Virginia. And in New York City, General Ulysses S. Grant is honored, if that is the correct word, with a sometimes public urinal, drug emporium, and/or set for a rock concert. It seems to be a matter of taste and class, reflecting the possibility that there might still be some regional differences.
Beyonce's Grant's Tomb Dancing Criticized
Jul 12, 10:50 PM EST
The head of a private historical group says the government and NBC should have stopped a scantily clad Beyonce Knowles from dancing in a "patently inappropriate" way on the steps of the tomb of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Frank Scaturro, president of the Grant Monument Association, wrote letters Saturday to NBC, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and National Park Service director Fran Mainella over Beyonce's nationally televised July 4 performance.
Saying the former Destiny's Child singer used "lascivious choreography" and barely dressed backup dancers, Scaturro's letter to NBC complained: "At that location, a certain decorum should have been observed from which popular entertainers are not exempt."
Representatives of NBC and Beyonce didn't return calls seeking comment Saturday. National Park Service spokesman David Barna declined to comment because officials hadn't yet read the letter.
Ulysses Grant Dietz, the great-great-grandson of the Civil War hero and 18th president, said Saturday he didn't object as a rule to most live performances, as long as the tomb is carefully maintained. But he suggested organizers be more thoughtful.
"If they're doing a Fourth of July celebration and they're doing it at a grave of a president, maybe they should look a little more closely at what the performances are," Dietz said.
General Grant National Memorial
Riverside Drive at West 122nd Street
Manhattan
Why Go To Grant's Tomb?The best reason to go to Grant's Tomb is to say that you have been there and have seen it.