"Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less."
Posted on 01/25/2007 8:04:52 PM PST by stainlessbanner
ATLANTA - With little fanfare or controversy, the House proclaimed 2007 as the "Year of Lee" in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Lee's birthday was celebrated Friday by a small crowd at the Capitol. Officially, the birthday is one of three Confederate state holidays, but government employees are off the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Resolutions saluting people pass the General Assembly almost daily without discussion or much notice, but those recognizing controversial figures usually trigger a debate. For example, last year, a measure commending Oscar-winning actress and Georgia resident Jane Fonda for her contributions to curbing teen pregnancy resulted in national headlines when lawmakers voted it down because of her protests during the Vietnam War.
So House Resolution 28 is noteworthy because of how little stir it caused when it passed unanimously Jan. 11.
As a slaveowner who led the South in the war that eventually abolished slavery, Lee has been reviled in some circles. He was stripped of his U.S. citizenship until President Ford restored it. Last week, his memory caused friction in Tampa, Fla., when the city council there adopted its own resolution proclaiming a "year of Lee," according to The Associated Press.
Another icon of the Old South - the Confederate battle flag - remains a source of debate in Georgia, even during last fall's campaign as "flaggers" protested Gov. Sonny Perdue for not putting it back into the design of the official state banner.
But Lee also is remembered as a gentleman and a brilliant military commander.
Sponsored by Rep. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson, the resolution recounts Lee's life, including stints in Georgia to supervise construction of Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island near Savannah in his first assignment after graduating from West Point and later as a brigadier general in charge of the defenses on the coast of Georgia before he joined the Confederacy. It also notes that in 1871, Savannah was the first city in the nation to celebrate his birthday.
"You can't criticize Lee," he said.
Benton, a retired teacher and Civil War buff, said he was asked by the Sons of the Confederacy and other groups to author the resolution. He compared Lee to George Washington.
"The only difference between Lee and Washington is Lee lost," Benton said.
Black leaders in the House said they didn't raise any objection because they're more concerned about being able to celebrate their own historical figures.
Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, who marched with King, said he didn't try to block the hanging of Lee's portrait in the Capitol either.
"I've never objected. I've learned to accept the reality of the fact that people want to honor him ... as long as there can be true diversity," Brooks said. "... I just want the complete history represented."
Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, the chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, said few lawmakers paid any attention when the Lee resolution passed.
"Although he wasn't a hero of mine, I respect the ability of other people to honor their own heroes," he said.
In a few weeks, the House will consider a request by Gov. Sonny Perdue to spend taxpayer funds dressing up several Civil War battlefields in preparation of the 150th anniversary of the start of the war in 2011.
Perdue said it's a way to generate tourism dollars as supporters from both sides travel to learn about that historic period firsthand.
2007 General Lee Ping
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The d'yankee south haters will be along shortly , they ain't gonna like that black politicians didn't complain about this.
He coulda said all those "Travellers," but the horse is in Virginia, lol.
Happy Double Centennial, General Lee!
Visit Georgia this year for the Year of Lee.
yeah, get millions slaughtered in an unwinnable war. right brilliant mr. lee.
Man of Brooks to say that. Lee is truly one of the great ones for all Americans to embrace.
"Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less."
There were 650,000 total lost on both sides, not millions.
He also had the option of getting hundreds of thousands slaughtered and winning.
Er, General Lee was a soldier. He took orders. Politicians fought the war and bade honorable men like Lee to follow. How would you do it differently? You certainly couldn't have done it better. You certainly could have done it worse.
Lee was offered the command of Lincoln's army but felt he couldn't be disloyal to his native Virginia. He may have been on the wrong side but no one can doubt his integrity.
Just think, if he was still alive he would hold the Guinness world record for oldest person in the world. What a tragedy, someday we will cure the disease of death.
One big bump for that picture. Wonderful. The only cadet to ever go through the US Military Academy without a single demerit.
Perhaps America's most over-rated general.
"Wrong side" and "losing" are debatable, anyway.
Sun Belt vs. Rust Belt
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