Like people of many other cultures, Americans love to celebrate their history. They should. Observing common traditions and remembering the great accomplishments of the past establishes national pride, reinforcing important bonds between citizens.
There are some issues, however, for which the same rules don't always apply.
Earlier this month, Virginia governor Robert McDonnell designated April as Confederate History Month. The proclamation was designed to promote tourism, as next year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
Interestingly enough, McDonnell's measure made no mention of slavery, which has caused a firestorm of controversy in the time since. Many, including President Obama, called the governor's omission of slavery unacceptable. The governor has since apologized.
The question remains – whether the proclamation mentions slavery or not – why have Confederate History Month in the first place?? Other Southern states have acted similarly. Alabama has also designated April as Confederate History Month, although its proclamation did mention slavery. In years past, Georgia has honored Confederate history three different times.
Southerners maintain that the soldiers that fought for the Confederate forces during the Civil War deserve to be remembered and honored for their service and courage. Indeed, these soldiers were simply serving their superiors, and it is very possible that many of them did not own slaves and were opposed to slavery.
Confederate History Month, though, is doing a lot less to honor these individuals than it is to offend African-Americans and promote the false belief that slavery was only a peripheral issue during the Civil War.
The Civil War was absolutely about slavery. Any other issue or point of contention was secondary, with slavery taking center stage. To ignore that is to favorably revise history for political or ideological means.
Think about it this way. What would be the difference if Germany were to designate a certain month as "Nazi History Month"? It would simply honor the service and courage of the soldiers who fought for Hitler in World War II. Additionally, it would make no mention of the Holocaust, dismissing it as a peripheral issue during the war and reminding German citizens that Adolf Hitler did many good things for Germany during his time as leader.
That, in essence, is analogous to how McDonnell remembers the days of the Civil War.
The states in the South would do better to just forget about this issue altogether. Southerners are frequently complaining about being stereotyped as "backward," uneducated, and bigoted. Perhaps Confederate History Month might be a contributing factor.
Regardless of stance on Confederate History Month, it is sad that 150 years after the end of the Civil War, our nation still cannot escape the racial tensions that once brought the North and South against one another on the bloody battlefield.
