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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
News Um, happy birthday Civil War?
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Tue, Nov 30, 2010 at 1:00 PM
Lawd, it's the Civil War's 150th birthday ... for the next four years (which was the length of the war). You know what that means: Every redneck and old-money Southern family south of the Mason Dixon Line and east of Texas' western border is ready to fly their Rebel Flag, hold a ball and generally mis-remember the war's details.
From The New York Times:
The Civil War, the most wrenching and bloody episode in American history, may not seem like much of a cause for celebration, especially in the South.And yet, as the 150th anniversary of the four-year conflict gets under way, some groups in the old Confederacy are planning at least a certain amount of hoopla, chiefly around the glory days of secession, when 11 states declared their sovereignty under a banner of states’ rights and broke from the union.
The events include a “secession ball” in the former slave port of Charleston (“a joyous night of music, dancing, food and drink,” says the invitation), which will be replicated on a smaller scale in other cities. A parade is being planned in Montgomery, Ala., along with a mock swearing-in of Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederacy.
In addition, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and some of its local chapters are preparing various television commercials that they hope to show next year. “All we wanted was to be left alone to govern ourselves,” says one ad from the group’s Georgia Division.
That some — even now — are honoring secession, with barely a nod to the role of slavery, underscores how divisive a topic the war remains, with Americans continuing to debate its causes, its meaning and its legacy.
Read the rest of this article, by Katharine Q. Seelye, here.
Slavery, and the country -- ours -- built upon its back, cannot be forgotten. A very brief history:
Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.
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