WAL-MART WANTS TO WREST 'WILDERNESS' FROM WAR WONKS!
Lil' Barb
By JAMES MCPHERSON
Princeton, N.J.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
In May 1864, two armies clashed in a desperate struggle for the course
of our nation's history. The Battle of the Wilderness was a great
turning point of the Civil War -- the first clash between Robert E.
Lee and Ulysses S. Grant and the beginning of the end for the
beleaguered Confederacy. The fighting was so intense that the tangled
underbrush caught fire, burning wounded soldiers alive.
To commemorate the bloody struggle, portions of the Wilderness --
which is near Locust Grove, Va., in Orange County -- were set aside as
a national military park. However, just 21 percent of the battlefield
is permanently protected; other key areas are privately held and
vulnerable to development.
This vulnerability became apparent when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced
plans to build a 138,000-square-foot superstore on historically
sensitive land directly across the road from the national park. The
store would sit on a hill overlooking key parts of the battlefield,
looming over a national treasure.
Preservationists are not opposed to Wal-Mart opening a superstore in
the region. A coalition of national and local conservation groups has
merely asked Wal-Mart to choose a different location. Together with
more than 250 other historians, I signed a letter to the company in
support of that idea. We wrote that "the Wilderness is an indelible
part of our history, its very ground hallowed by the American blood
spilled there, and it cannot be moved. Surely Wal-Mart can identify a
site that would meet its needs without changing the very character of
the battlefield."
"Wilderness Wal-Mart" supporters argue that because the proposed store
site lies just beyond the park, it lacks historic significance, a
profound misunderstanding of the nature of history. In the heat of
battle, no unseen hand kept soldiers inside what would one day be a
national park. Such boundaries are artificial, modern constructions
shaped by external factors, and they have little bearing on what is or
is not historic. To assume the park boundary at the Wilderness
encompasses every acre of significant ground is to believe that the
landscape beyond the borders of Yosemite National Park instantly
ceases to be majestic.
With Civil War battlefields we have a true tool for determining
historic value: the findings of the congressionally appointed Civil
War Sites Advisory Commission. I was privileged to serve on this
distinguished panel of historians and lawmakers, and I stand by our
decision to include the area Wal-Mart is considering within the
battlefield's historic boundary.
The controversy illustrates another misconception about historic
preservation -- that it must occur at the expense of economic
development. A properly managed historic site can be a powerful
economic driver for its community, creating jobs and generating tax
revenue by drawing tourists.
Recognizing this, preservationists have proposed a comprehensive
planning process to balance protection of the Wilderness Battlefield
with regional economic development goals, marrying respect for the old
with the promise of the new. It is a process by which everyone -- Wal-
Mart, local residents and the battlefield -- wins. The alternative is
the type of piecemeal development that has swallowed up historic sites
and destroyed the identities of countless communities. It is a
scenario in which only Wal-Mart wins.
There is still time for Wal-Mart to recognize its error and identify
another location. This week marks the 145th anniversary of the Battle
of the Wilderness, a perfect opportunity to seek a solution in
everyone's best interests. The Wilderness Battlefield is a living
memorial to American sacrifice and heroism. It would be tragic if such
a landmark was lost through the short-sightedness of local decision-
makers and Wal-Mart's stubborn refusal to consider reasonable
alternatives.
[The writer is the George Henry Davis '86 Professor of History at
Princeton University and a past president of the American Historical
Association. McPherson won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for "Battle Cry of
Freedom" and is a two-time winner of the Lincoln Prize.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/02/AR2009050202004.html
Raymond O'Hara
"Lil' Barb" <perry...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1eda9e50-5dce-4ec1...@s20g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
> "Wal-Mart vs. the Wilderness"
>
> By JAMES MCPHERSON
> Princeton, N.J.
> Sunday, May 3, 2009
all Wal-Marts are abominations.
the location of this one more so.
especially when one factors in the Wal-Mart tactic of opening stores to kill
off local stores and when that is accomplished closing that store and
forcing people to drive further away to a store that is profitable.
Wal-Mart is one of the most evil and predatory companies ever.
Hugh Lawson
I rarely buy anything without first checking at WalMart. They always
have a better price.
--
Hugh Lawson
hla...@triad.rr.com
Raymond O'Hara
"Hugh Lawson" <hla...@triad.rr.com> wrote in message
news:87ws8x6...@desktop.xx.yy...
fine. kill off local businesses and support shippin jobs overseas.
SCREW AMERICA! SHOP WAL-MART!
fortunately they have made few inroads into New England.
we'll pay a bit extra to preserve our heritage.
wal-mart pressures manufacturers to always lower their prices and such is
their buying power it works. this forces manufacturers to ship jons to asia.
and this causes more job losses.
but i suppose it's one way to end illegal immigration, lower or standard of
living to Mexico's so there is no point to coming here.
Hugh Lawson
Businesses come and go, Ray. Try not to be too sentimental about
them.
--
Hugh Lawson
hla...@triad.rr.com
Raymond O'Hara
and jobs just go.
slotrot
wrote:
> "Hugh Lawson" <hlaw...@triad.rr.com> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
If you are blaming WalMart for the shipping of jobs to Asia, you're
blaming them for selling the goods produced by companies that moved
their manufacturing to Asia. If we are not making clothing, shoes,
drugs, aircraft parts, etc in North America, where would WalMart, or
any other retailer for that matter, get the goods for sale? Perhaps
it's the GAP, NIKE, and the likes that have taken advantage of the
cheap labour in Asia, who's products you should not be buying. Check
the labels. Hard to find things not made outside North America.
Raymond O'Hara
"slotrot" <Robert....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3e9b777c-a02d-494a...@e14g2000vbe.googlegroups.com...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wal-mart forces companies to always keep cutting ot lose shelf space.
this causes them to ship jobs out.
wal-mart is very powerful and it can dictate to manufacturers.
slotrot
> "slotrot" <Robert.Taub...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> wal-mart forces companies to always keep cutting ot lose shelf space.
> this causes them to ship jobs out.
>
> - Show quoted text -
I doubt that WalMart tells NIKE, GAP, ROOTS, Boeing, etc where to
locate their manufacturing. Shenzhen, China is one big manufacturing
center with pharmaceutical (sp) companies, garment manufacturing,
electronics, and the list goes on. It ain't just WalMart. While they
have some work-related practices that are somewhat questionable, you
can't blame the lose of manufacturing in the U.S. entirely on
WalMart. It's all about the bottom line. It's about how much profit
can be made on the backs of unskilled/skilled workers.
Raymond O'Hara
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Wal-Mart is the most powerful force in retail.
if they decide not to carry your product you are screwed.
Boeing doesn't sell their stuff in stores.
the Gap is a store not a product. and nike does listen to wal-mart.
scrib...@aol.com
> I rarely buy anything without first checking at WalMart. They always
> have a better price.
How fitting that Hugh matches Oscar Wilde's definition of a cynic...
"a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Hugh Lawson
> How fitting that Hugh matches Oscar Wilde's definition of a cynic...
> "a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Piffle. LOL.
--
Hugh Lawson
hla...@triad.rr.com
Raymond O'Hara
> scrib...@aol.com writes:
>
>
>> How fitting that Hugh matches Oscar Wilde's definition of a cynic...
>> "a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
>
> Piffle. LOL.
>
I'll pay a bit more to keep the money local.
"when we hang the last capitalist, it will be with a rope he sold us"
V.I.Lenin.