I see. If I don't grant the "integrity of the issue or the cause" then I am less an American, than, by implication, you are, in your wisdom for seeing the truth of the matter. The truth of the matter is that, to this day, nearly150 years after that war, after all the emotions should have been erased and it can be viewed in the clear light of history, you remain an apologist for evil and evil-doers. It disgusts me that you can't have pride in your heritage without recognizing that Lee and the Southern cause were evil. We should be beyond that as a country. I think you and other such apologists must have some other issue muddying your thinking.
And with that one line, there is nothing more to say.
For me there is great honor and dignity in Robert E. Lee. Hw was not an evil man. Neither was Stonewall Jackson or JEB Stuart. Anyone reading their life stories will know that to be true.
You don't need to respond back. I already know where you stand. I just wanted you to know that I stand proudly with the three men that I mentioned.
"I see. If I don't grant the "integrity of the issue or the cause" then I am less an American"
IMO, you don't "see". Might makes right does it? The fact that some people died to be free of the Crown and form a "loose" federation of independent colonies that required yet another war between them to bind them into the strong nation we all enjoy today is not an apology. Likewise the fact that 150 years later the issue is still hot button, testifies to its integrity. The essential conflict-that under what circumstances must independent men be expected or required to bind themselves to a larger political entity - is just as valid today. Some of us wonder where the 10th Ammendment went, while others debate the pros & cons of centralized world government. The issue, the debate, and the heritage are all uniquely American. I'm sorry you choose to reject such heritage.