05/25/26 Memorial Day Grif.Net - Confederate Memorial Day
b...@grif.net
[Reprint from the Grif Net 29 years ago, coming true in our lifetime]
Today is the "official" observance of Memorial Day. But did you know that the original Memorial Day was observed on April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; on May 10 in North Carolina and South Carolina; on May 30 in Virginia; and on June 3 in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
This was "Confederate Memorial Day" - a day set aside in the South to pay tribute to those who served with the Confederate forces during the American Civil War.
The Civil War touched the lives of everyone at the time, and it continues to do so today. Much has been written recently concerning the Confederate Flag, which most true Southerners feel represents the heritage passed down to them from their ancestors.
"It's offensive," some have said, "because it glorifies slavery, represents a period of rebellion, and romanticizes war." On the contrary...
It's not a matter of romanticizing war, for none condemned war more than those who suffered the horror and trauma of battle. The only thing it glorifies is the gritty courage of those who fought and died on this country's bloodiest battlefields. Those were our Father's and Grandfather's bodies in those countless numbers of caskets wrapped in that flag and who now rest on hallowed ground.
And yes, the Southern soil where they now rest is hallowed! If the Confederate flag no longer can be acknowledged, WHAT NEXT? Are all the statues of the Confederate Generals who silently stand guard on courthouse lawns to be reduced to rubble?
Will we ever be allowed to sing "Dixie" in polite society again?
In an article which appeared in the New York Tribune, during the war-between-the-states, a correspondent wrote:
"A people separated from their heritage are easily persuaded," This particular correspondent zealously supported the Northern side in the bitter conflict. He went on to say: "If you erase the symbols of a people's heritage, you erase their public identity and memory, and then you can 'persuade' them in whatever you want."
For once in his life, this correspondent knew what he was talking about.
His name was Karl Marx.
[from an article "You Ain't Just Whistlin Dixie"]
~~~
Dr. Bob Griffin
“Jesus knows me, this I Love”
