...and then a man rode through the lines bearing a white flag.

[Martin Eden]

15. Confederate soldiers fought proudly and valiantly with great courage ...

... for a very bad cause.

I'm a bit of a Civil War history buff, and it's amazing what the soldiers (on both sides) were able to do, and what they endured. I can understand why both the common soldiers and many prominent generals in the South are remembered with honor and high esteem. Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson were outstanding leaders and deeply religious men who were greatly respected.

You don't have to tell me they committed treason and were responsible for killing thousands in order to sustain the institution of slavery. I am not making excuses for them, but merely pointing out indisputable facts.

We need to tell today's neo-Confederates and make them understand that their heroes fought for a very bad cause.

It can be very difficult to separate the men from the cause they fought for, both 150 years ago and today.

For example, after 9-11 many brave patriotic young Americans volunteered to put their lives on the line for their country by joining the armed services. Many thousands of them were killed or maimed fighting in Iraq. They were sent there on the basis of lies, in the commission of what amounts to a serious war crime.

I can respect those men (and women) for their motives and their sacrifice. They were badly misinformed, and most of them honestly believed they were fighting the "bad guys" to protect their families at home.

What Americans desperately need to learn is that support for "the troops" can and should be decoupled from the cause they fought and died for, when it is a very bad cause.

If the South fails to learn and understand that about the Civil War and Americans today fail to learn and understand that about our invasion of Iraq, this catastrophically tragic history will continue to repeat itself in new and deadly manifestations.