"I don't see us shoving it in your faces ever."
Um, we southerners are Americans too. Don't you consider yourselves Americans up north anymore?
Point being, shoving it in MY face is shoving it in YOUR face, assuming you are an American.
It's your history too, and you'll just have to live with the fact that the south is home to Americans, in many ways better Americans on a per-capita basis, when you look at the prevalence of things like military service, than you folks up North.
Oh, and about praising people....Robert E. Lee was a better American than most, before, during, and after the Civil War. You'd do well to emulate him in your own life.
R. E. Lee was indeed a great American. Like many other famous great men in history, he earned his fame fighting for what turned out to be a lost cause. And a cause that most today agree deserved to lose.
We do not have to agree with their beliefs to honor men who fought bravely for their beliefs.