The United Daughters of the Confederacy are marking Confederate Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Richmond-based group has events scheduled Sunday morning and afternoon at the Confederate Monument on the cemetery grounds.
Confederate Memorial Day is recognized on various dates across the south.
The monument at Arlington dates to 1914 and it remains a controversial landmark.
American presidents have traditionally marked the day by sending a wreath to the site. In 2009, several dozen university professors and scholars asked President Barack Obama to end the tradition, which they considered offensive.
Obama refused but began another tradition of also sending a presidential wreath to a Washington monument honoring African-Americans who fought in the Civil War.
It is not often that I agree with President Obama. However, he was dead-on with this action. Honoring the Confederate dead is about a region’s culture and history, good and bad. Unlike some who insist on displaying a replica of the battle flag (which they usually, and mistakenly, refer to as the Confederate flag), choosing to honor those who gave their lives for the “sacred cause” is being reverent of their culture rather than attempting to offend or intimidate others. The President exhibited wisdom by choosing to honor BOTH the Confederate dead AND those African-Americans who also paid the ultimate price in that horrible war.
5 comments:
A political move on his part , election time is comming. Was it from the heart , we will never know.
Kenyan Nazis have NO HEART!!!!!!!! PLUS he is a DumbOcan't so he has no soul!!!!!!! We need to get rid of this TRAITOR!! AAAAAAAUUGGHHHH!
Hey 5:41, "election time is comming"
The Pres. sent the wreath in 09' dumb dumb. Kind of messes up the whole "it's for the election" theory. You guys are hilarious!
I am a black person who think that it is a mistake to try to erase Confederate history. It's a part of American history. My family is deeply rooted in rural northern Virginia, and I grew up around many fascinating landmarks and relics from the US Civil War. Many people want to use Confederate history as a symbol of hate, and that is wrong. Remember, the war was about state's rights and not slavery in itself.
Trying to pretend the Confederacy never happened is more divisive then accepting it as American history and honor those who died and move on.
Post a Comment