Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
86. K&R.
Fri Apr 10, 2015, 02:05 AM
Apr 2015

The reality of my high school history course in the deep South: we never got past the "War Between the States." It was the 1950s, and for the people of the city in which I lived, American history, time itself maybe, stopped right there, right in the moments before the South was defeated. The reality of the defeat was not to be acknowledged. It hurt their pride too much.

And now we have Rand Paul and the rest of the Republicans who want to be in the White House but who cannot afflord to live in the present because they need the votes of Southerners. And the majority of Southerners have to this date not yet admitted they were wrong about slavery, about segregation, about race more generally.

Yet we are a nation of diversity. And it is the failure to deal with that reality that holds large portions of our country back.

Every major issue cannot be viewed clearly by just a little less than half the country because that less than half sees everything through a filter of color and race. They fear and hate people of color, anyone they perceive as different from themselves, and they pretend that their ignorance and prejudice is some righteous expression of religion.

They confuse religious freedom with the freedom to hate and despise people who are different from them. That is what they did in the Civil War, and that is what they do today.

Let everyone over 18 vote. Everyone.

I totally forgot this was the 150th anniversary... Cooley Hurd Apr 2015 #1
So did I. My frogmarch Apr 2015 #9
Intersting thing about Wilmer McLean, who owned the house where Lee signed the surrender papers ... Martin Eden Apr 2015 #17
I'd read that somewhere a while back! frogmarch Apr 2015 #18
My great-great grandfather, Albert W. Gallatin, was also at Appomattox Court House that day too, MgtPA Apr 2015 #41
This should really be a National Holiday and day of remembrance. nt Zorra Apr 2015 #2
and that was the only safeinOhio Apr 2015 #3
This! We have Armistice Day, VE and VJ Day. Why IS there no day Surya Gayatri Apr 2015 #11
May 30 1939 Apr 2015 #29
You're right. The original intent of 'Decoration Day' was to honor Surya Gayatri Apr 2015 #37
There are a lot of claims to being the first "memorial day" 1939 Apr 2015 #45
Perhaps you mean 1868? Surya Gayatri Apr 2015 #53
yes, mistyped NT, thx 1939 Apr 2015 #66
h The way we're going, might as well be 2068. Fantastic Anarchist Apr 2015 #68
American ball bouncing rhyme: merrily Apr 2015 #63
That would require large numbers of people getting over it first arcane1 Apr 2015 #33
+1! Having lived in MD, VA, and KY - the genetics just don't give up. erronis Apr 2015 #39
I've lived in NJ, NY and MA. Growing up, no one spoke of the civil war as such. merrily Apr 2015 #64
I also did my growing up in the NE and now live in VT erronis Apr 2015 #69
I grew up in Arkansas Art_from_Ark Apr 2015 #77
I come from a Boston family. DamnYankeeInHouston Apr 2015 #98
And brain-dead rednecks have been drawling ever since: "Th'Saouth will rahse agin!" Aristus Apr 2015 #4
painting with a broad brush RT Atlanta Apr 2015 #10
Don't worry, we've got plenty of brain-dead rednecks up north also.... daleanime Apr 2015 #14
If you haven't already bvf Apr 2015 #25
Love me some Newman.... daleanime Apr 2015 #38
And "Confederates in the Attic" or "Howling in the Belly of the Confederacy" erronis Apr 2015 #42
Joe Bagent Nailed It (as usual) The River Apr 2015 #61
Thanks for the reading suggestions. txwhitedove Apr 2015 #80
Thanks, put it on my "to read" list CanonRay Apr 2015 #116
.... merrily Apr 2015 #65
You got that shit right. Enthusiast Apr 2015 #31
Don't mind the - mahina Apr 2015 #24
I know. My heart goes out to everyone living in an oasis of sanity in that festering hell-hole Aristus Apr 2015 #54
The South WILL rise DFW Apr 2015 #16
I don't expect the Confederacy to rise.... CherokeeDem Apr 2015 #30
Born and raised in the Confederate Capitol, I saw and heard it. arcane1 Apr 2015 #35
I go back home regularly DFW Apr 2015 #40
I grew up in the south too. cwydro Apr 2015 #71
Confederate flag over South Carolina capitol. Hoyt Apr 2015 #112
I live in NC. cwydro Apr 2015 #118
That would make a GREAT bumper sticker, DFW. I wish that statement could go viral. loudsue Apr 2015 #96
I agree.... CherokeeDem Apr 2015 #23
I'm from Idaho... Blanks Apr 2015 #50
Exactly.... CherokeeDem Apr 2015 #59
rural vs. urban, so true steve2470 Apr 2015 #73
It's interesting to see the difference in the attitude... Blanks Apr 2015 #75
I would say something but I'm sure it would break the TOS. And I do love MY South. Lochloosa Apr 2015 #26
I'm 60+ and I used to hear that quite a bit as a child. lark Apr 2015 #28
Good point BrotherIvan Apr 2015 #5
Kind of like Jews v Muslims, Sunni v Shia, Protestants v Catholics, or black v white world wide wally Apr 2015 #6
... In_The_Wind Apr 2015 #8
If we had no enemies what reason could we find to keep on living? nolabels Apr 2015 #55
There must be something. In_The_Wind Apr 2015 #58
I can't fight you on that one. nolabels Apr 2015 #62
White flags are the best flags RobertEarl Apr 2015 #7
White on blue...beautiful. Surya Gayatri Apr 2015 #13
It's depressing to think about how... renegade000 Apr 2015 #12
Check out the history of the Republican Party ladjf Apr 2015 #34
Yes, the origins of the Republican party is quite interesting. renegade000 Apr 2015 #44
I'll get back to your post in a couple of hours. Your comment ladjf Apr 2015 #48
well, what it's become, NOW heaven05 Apr 2015 #74
Abraham Lincoln did NOT 'promise the immediate Emancipation Proclamation.' Lincoln proposed KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #47
Factually speaking you are indeed correct. ladjf Apr 2015 #57
Lincoln was not an 'abolitionist' before being elected. Nor did Lincoln advocate for KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #85
Lincoln was an opponent of the "slaveocracy" heaven05 Apr 2015 #76
You are being extremely unfair to Lincoln and his record. I would suggest you start by KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #84
yeah right heaven05 Apr 2015 #89
The "Gettysburg Address," imo, is one of the 2-3 greatest speeches in the KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #100
okay heaven05 Apr 2015 #110
In Watts, CA at last check the adult unemployment rate hovered in the KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #120
Interesting query heaven05 Apr 2015 #123
John Breckenridge 1939 Apr 2015 #128
Confederate soldiers fought proudly and valiantly with great courage ... Martin Eden Apr 2015 #15
your values are defined by your behavior - nothing noble about fighting for slavery nt msongs Apr 2015 #19
Many (if not most) believed they were fighting for their homes and families. Martin Eden Apr 2015 #21
Why was that? rogerashton Apr 2015 #46
Reading into it 1939 Apr 2015 #72
Right. Drafted rednecks. rogerashton Apr 2015 #78
Sherman's March 1939 Apr 2015 #79
Right, my bad -- it was Vicksburg I meant. rogerashton Apr 2015 #91
Irregular Forces Martin Eden Apr 2015 #93
By 1860 they had already been fighting for years in "bleeding Kansas" rogerashton Apr 2015 #107
Yep, the fanatical John Brown was involved in the "bleeding Kansas" war. Martin Eden Apr 2015 #113
"It's a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." redstatebluegirl Apr 2015 #117
Wanna take a guess bullsnarfle Apr 2015 #119
Theodore Roosevelt's father did. rogerashton Apr 2015 #125
I believe it was 20 slaves, not 10; bullsnarfle Apr 2015 #126
This could and should be its own OP, imo. Same could be said about American soldiers KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #88
Just concluded the 9 part series, The Civil War, by Ken Burns on Netflix Hulk Apr 2015 #20
Do you mean Ken Burns? n/t Martin Eden Apr 2015 #22
Yup...I always screw that up. Hulk Apr 2015 #67
...and we have been fighting that war, in one fashion or another, ever since n/t jaysunb Apr 2015 #27
And we are now experiencing the southern economic model. Bonhomme Richard Apr 2015 #32
My great great uncle August enlisted with the 1st Missouri Infantry, Company A, mustered... FailureToCommunicate Apr 2015 #36
Union & Confederate dead buried side by side in Kansas cemetary Divernan Apr 2015 #95
Yes, tragic AND ironic. So many rural small towns lost most of their able-bodied young men FailureToCommunicate Apr 2015 #111
and POC are still fighting 'white prvilege' heaven05 Apr 2015 #43
+1 nt steve2470 Apr 2015 #70
Truth, liberty, and love! ananda Apr 2015 #49
The Scott novels 1939 Apr 2015 #81
Drove through the battlefield on rote 24 just this weekend underpants Apr 2015 #51
I don't always fly the Confederate flag, but KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #52
Grant dictated the terms 1939 Apr 2015 #56
Nice post. marble falls Apr 2015 #60
So to stop all of this what should be done? oneshooter Apr 2015 #82
As I said in a similar thread DonCoquixote Apr 2015 #83
Best fucking response in this thread. Bravo! - nt KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #87
K&R. JDPriestly Apr 2015 #86
Just out of curiosity, did you read many books about the Civil War? Major Hogwash Apr 2015 #90
The Catton canon, David Herbert Donald, many others. WilliamPitt Apr 2015 #94
To celebrate the 150th, I've been re-reading quite a lot of it. malthaussen Apr 2015 #102
I figured as much. Major Hogwash Apr 2015 #127
"...was the great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln" WilliamPitt Apr 2015 #129
That is one hell of a story (and one I hope you fine-tune and publish elsewhere besides KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #101
Sadly Lincoln messed up big time at the end. ncjustice80 Apr 2015 #92
Disagree WilliamPitt Apr 2015 #99
Are you suggesting that the 'worst elements' weren't already 'radicalized' before KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #104
Which two posts demonstrate that we're still fighting Reconstruction as well. malthaussen Apr 2015 #108
It makes me weep. - nt KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #121
+1 FailureToCommunicate Apr 2015 #114
Agreed. There needed to be serious and severe consequences for KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #103
So very sad, isn't it. a kennedy Apr 2015 #97
Don't expect Southerners Thespian2 Apr 2015 #105
amazing terms of surrender... ProdigalJunkMail Apr 2015 #106
'Surrender your weapons, go in peace, and keep it that way'. Short and sweet. FailureToCommunicate Apr 2015 #109
Boiler-plate, actually. malthaussen Apr 2015 #115
Had Butler received Lee's surrender, the ladies of the South might KingCharlemagne Apr 2015 #122
They certainly would have to look to their spoons. n/t malthaussen Apr 2015 #124
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»...and then a man rode th...»Reply #86