I have not written in this space for awhile, but the Anniversary of Lee’s surrender of his Army of Northern Virginia to US Grant, overall commander of US forces at Appomattox Court House has prompted some reflections on now and then. I’ve only visited the McClean Farmhouse once. You have to want to go there. It’s nowhere near an Interstate highway. Lee & Grant were not thinking about heritage tourism. It’s a VERY significant site in our almost 250 year history. Things could have turned out differently. The end of the story was not pre-ordained when the first cannon fired on Ft. Sumter. The southern armies had a lot of success over those years. They had bold and audacious army leaders, who are still studied to this day. But the premise of their fight for “freedom” from the US Government was a big lie. They said they believed that people of African descent were “less than” any white man. They were best suited to being servants and field hands and the planter aristocracy was doing them a favor by bringing them here and taking care of them. Enough people didn’t believe that lie and we were very fortunate that someone as strong and insightful asLincoln was President. At that point in time the Republican party and it’s leader were the savior of our democracy and set us on a path towards a better future. Todays Republican party does not resemble the 1865 version in very many ways. When I witnessed Americans storm the US Capitol egged on by our Republican President, with Confederate flags flying, they pulled off something Bobby Lee never accomplished…and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Lee’s armies could never penetrate the defenses of Washington to get to that building. On the contrary, Grant’s Army entered and took Richmond after Lee was forced to flee. History is being written day. There will be a lot of fresh pages added this week and every week. Right now I personally feel that the Republican Party is a train wreck looking for a place to happen. Many of them in positions of power have not dealt with the “big lie” of 2021 in an honest way. But they do have a vision of what they want…and it’s not freedom and equality for all. It’s hard to be Black, Brown, Trans or Gay in their world. Science is a dirty word and libraries need to have just the “right” books. Having a “leader” who is a troubled human does not seem to bother them. There’s a lot of work to do to insure we don’t go backwards.
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