Posted on 05/15/2003 5:16:03 AM PDT by sheltonmac
All through American history, brave Southerners have taken up the reins of leadership when their countrymen needed them most. More than just obscure footnotes in the pages of a public school textbook, these names have become synonymous with leadership.
George Washington, perhaps the most famous of all Southern leaders, stood up to a king and his imperial army. He faced overwhelming odds during the American Revolution, yet survived to see the birth of a new nation.
Washington’s sense of duty throughout the war carried over into his role as our nation's first president. Unlike most modern politicians, he was a man of principle, and more than anything he wanted to ensure that America's desperate struggle for independence had not been in vain.
His death in 1799 brought grief to freedom lovers everywhere. All of America mourned, but the pain of his loss was felt as far away as Europe. Such was the extent of his influence as a champion of liberty.
Robert E. Lee, like Washington, rose up as a leader to defend his homeland against a powerful foe. When he accepted command of the Army of Northern Virginia, he did so with a gracious spirit, and went on to win the admiration of thousands on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Even after his surrender on April 9, 1865, Lee remained the epitome of true leadership. Having witnessed the renewed assaults on the South in the years following the War Between the States, he wrote:
"If I had foreseen the use that those people designed to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox courthouse. No sir, not by me. Had I foreseen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my men, my sword in my right hand."
For men like Washington and Lee, freedom itself was merely an abstract concept; it was what that freedom secured that gave them the courage to fight. They fought not only for liberty and independence, but for everything they held dear: their homes, their families, their heritage.
Despite their fierceness on the battlefield, both men remained humble, never forgetting that they served their fellow citizens—and they did so with a passionate loyalty rarely seen today. The South is in need of such leaders again.
In this age of political correctness, attacks on Southern heritage are being carried out with increasing frequency and ferocity. Everything has become fair game for the social fascists seeking to erase from our national consciousness anything even remotely connected to the Confederacy.
In South Carolina, political pressure resulted in the removal of the Confederate battle flag from atop the state capitol. Georgia has just undergone its second flag change in as many years. In Kentucky, people are demanding that a statue of Jefferson Davis be removed from the grounds of the state capitol because it is considered "offensive" to a handful of malcontents with little else to occupy their time.
Naturally, anti-Southern bigotry is not limited to the political arena. Groups that pretend to promote "tolerance" and "diversity" consistently threaten economic boycotts of businesses and other organizations that fail to take decisive action against popular Confederate icons. Most recently, Boy Scouts in the Richmond area of Virginia were forced to remove Robert E. Lee's name from their uniforms in order to avoid offending the less tolerant.
Fortunately, there have been small victories along the way. In 2001, when presented with the chance to adopt a new state flag or keep the old one, Mississippi voters—by a margin of 2-to-1—chose to keep the 1894 flag emblazoned with the Southern Cross.
But such victories are few and far between. If its culture of courage and independence is going to survive, the South needs brave men and women to stand on the front lines against the onslaught of PC warriors. The South is once again in need of leaders like George Washington and Robert E. Lee: loyal, virtuous, strong, principled and uncompromising. I know they are out there, but enemies of Southern heritage like the NAACP seem to have a monopoly on name recognition and media coverage.
This is not a battle simply to win the right to wave a Confederate flag without being called a racist. It is a fight for the very heart and soul of the South. It is a fight to preserve what's left of a very important part of our history. After all, the South's heritage is America's heritage as well.
There, you wanted intolerance, I'll give you intolerance. Jeeze! I haven't even moved here yet and already you want a fight.
I'd like to see a source for this; I think it is apocryphal.
Here's some quotes of Lee's I found:
"Above all, I think there should be harmony and good feelings between all citizens, and no division into parties, but all should unite for the common good."
May 21, 1867,
In spring of 1867 Lee told a Confederate widow who was expressing hate towards yankees, " Madam, do not train up your children with hostility to the government of the United States. Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans."
That seems quite inconsistent with the idea acsribed to Lee in this thread.
Walt
The assault is not only on "Southern Morality and Decency" but on Morality herself - on Decency herself, and the fact they still exist in the minds and memories of some.
Relativism and Situational Ethics, being rejected by Morality, Decency, and Honor for so long are now finally taking root as they spread from the pulpits of polititians, educators, and media moguls throughout the land.
Main Entry: rel·a·tiv·ism
Pronunciation: 're-l&-ti-"vi-z&m
Function: noun
Date: 1865
1 a : a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing b : a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them
Right and Wrong once so vividly and universally distinct and obvious have now become mere shadows of the New Morality.
And this was no mistake, it took the relativists at least five generations to achieve such a victory - all by plan and design, and mostly accomplished through the American Educational systems - public education.
"But I say unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which dispitefully use you, and persecute you."
Mathew 5:44
We are all Americans and have taken the advice of Abraham Lincoln to reunite. Remember that the Race-Baiters and East Coast Liberals are Anti-Americans, not Americans.
Nope, I lost a relative during the penninsula Campaign, he was from Michigan, so he was a "yank".
Any visitors and transplants are welcome. We do have southern hospitality. Just don't try to change our way of life to yours.
Mathew 5:44
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Love is a verb, not an emotion
Christians are not to be doormats either, we are humans and deserve respect as a creation of God!
And Jamestown is where? Williamsburg is where, Yorktown is where? Arlington is where? Mt. Vernon is where? The Declaration of Independence was written by whom? The Constitution was written by whom?...Give me a break, it's Southern Heritage that started it all. All this BEFORE the United States was a true nation, Virginia was Soverign! We are still a Commomwealth, not a State.
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