[Reprint from the Grif Net 29 years ago, coming t=
rue 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 No=
rth Carolina and South Carolina; on May 30 in Virginia; and on June 3 in Ke=
ntucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
This was "Confederate Memor=
ial Day" – a day set aside in the South to pay tribute to those who se=
rved with the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. =
Th=
e 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 t=
hem from their ancestors.
 =
;
"It’s offensive," some have sa=
id, "because it glorifies slavery, represents a period of rebellion, a=
nd 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 cou=
rage of those who fought and died on this country’s bloodiest battlefields.=
Those were our Father’s and Grandfather’s bodies in those countless number=
s 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 Con=
federate flag no longer can be acknowledged, WHAT NEXT? Are all the statues=
of the Confederate Generals who silently stand guard on courthouse lawns t=
o be reduced to rubble?
Will we ever be allowed to sing "Dixi=
e" in polite society again?
In an article which appeared in t=
he New York Tribune, during the war-between-the-states, a correspondent wro=
te:
"A people separated from their heritage are easily persua=
ded," This particular correspondent zealously supported the Northern s=
ide in the bitter conflict. He went on to say: "If you erase the symbo=
ls 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. =
Hi=
s name was Karl Marx.
[from an article "You Ain’t Just Whistl=
in Dixie"]
~~~
Dr. Bob Grif=
fin
[email protected] www.grif.net=
&#=
8220;Jesus knows me, this I Love”