That Uncle Joe -- he was a crack-up!
Exactly the comparison that instantly came to mind. Non-History instead on non-persons, for now.
Perfect. 1000 words.
Yes! This says it all for the times we live in!
I thought about those exact picture when I read the headline... thanks for posting them.
There are numerous monuments erected by southern state memorial committees along the Confederate line of departure (LOD) for Pickett’s Charge on Day 3 of the battle. Maybe the NPS will drape those monuments to avoid offending the hypersensitive crybabies of the Left.
I take instruction from the conduct of the victors toward the vanquished in that war. After the surrender at Appomattox, Union troops (who had more reason than anyone currently alive to resent Confederates) responded to the officiating general’s order to stand at marching present arms in respect for their foes as Confederate units of the Army of Northern Virginia marched in one by one to surrender their arms and colors. The Confederate units returned the salute with similar respect.
Confederate officers and men were paroled and provisioned to return home as soldiers, not criminals. This respectful process of surrender was reenacted all over the South as other Confederate armies chose to follow General Lee’s example of accepting that the matter had been decided on the field of honor and that further fighting was, essentially, killing simply for killing’s sake.
To me, this is a perfect example of the difference between jus in bello (justice (or law) in war) and jus ad bellum (justice (or lawfulness) of the war).
It doesnot matter if the war was justified (jus ad bellum) or not. Confederate soldiers, although outnumbered, underequipped, and underfed, for the most part acquitted themselves honorably (jus in bello) during the war. They took up arms at the call of their elected state governments, obeyed the orders of their officers, fought with undisputed courage and discipline, and, after many hurts and sacrifices, obeyed orders to surrender, laid down their arms, and returned peaceably (for the most part) to civilian life. The descendants of Confederate soldiers and sailors can take pride in honorable military service that was courageously rendered by the forefathers at their government’s call.
That the cause they were called to arms for was flawed is not their responsibility. That issue (jus ad bellum) has been the subject of countless books and articles. Unfortunately, the present “discussion” is characterized by overheated and hyperbolic rhetoric by the Left/liberal side and its media allies that conflates the jus ad bellum and jus in bello distinctions made above and ignores the fact that slavery had been a legal institution in the British North American colonies and the United States since the 1640s. This rhetoric brands any display of the Confederate Battle Standard (or other flags of the Confederacy) or memorials to its honored military leaders or fallen soldiers as racist. The lunacy has now metastasized to embrace any notable American living before 1865 who happened to legally own slaves including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Just where this politically correct purge ends is anyone’s guess. If the Left/liberals have
their way, all patriotic symbols, memorials, and figures will be devalued and dishonored to make way for their progressive fairyland of tomorrow.
And let us not fail to notice in passing the outstanding display of spinelessness currently being shown by politicians of both political parties. May they not go unpunished for their lack of perspective and leadership.