It seems that talk of forgiveness is only limited to the pews on Sunday. In a major political and PR faux pas so soon after his sweeping victory, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, at the behest of the Sons of the Confederacy, declared the month of April Confederate History Month. And what's more is that he failed to acknowledge slavery. Well, you can only imagine the uproar that has created.
Despite his swift apology earlier today, there are many who are not so quick to forgive. One of the unforgiving is Democrat Virginia State Senator Henry Marsh III. During an interview on "John King, USA", Senator Marsh stated that he could not accept the apology because such actions represented a "pattern of this governor". Quite frankly, I'm a little confused. McDonnell has only been governor for a few months. What kind of pattern has he been establishing really? Also, I would love to know what Senator Marsh has to say about President Obama's string of broken promises and inconsistencies.
Like it or not, the Confederacy is a part of American History, and as egregious as some feel that era was, it should not be suppressed or forgotten. It should be something that should be learned from. We have days and months dedicated to commemorate everything under the sun, from breast cancer to left handed people to administrative assistants. We have Black History Month, Native American Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month yet not so much as an eyebrow is raised.
While I will be the first one to admit that I winced when I heard the news this morning, I also thought about how this action was in no way indicative of Governor McDonnell's true sentiments. We really need to practice what we preach, give the stern admonishment, and forgive him (this time anyway). If we cannot move on from this, we will be blinded to all the good things he may do for Virginia during his term. And that, I think, would truly be unforgivable.
You took the words right out of my mouth girlfriend!!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. We must learn from our past mistakes. While The war between the states was indeed about slavery, it was more about the rights of the individual states to govern their own affairs. In these times of apparently increasing oppression from the Federal Government, we need to re-examine the errors of our past. Dig in, discover the real reasons why people were forced to take up arms to defend the way of life they thought right.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. I abhor slavery. It was almost as great an evil as the Native American genocide. We must all examine our roots. "accept the things we cannot change, change the things we can, and have the wisdom to know the difference."
I abhor the idea of slavery and it is sad to remember, however, we need to know about our past to be sure we don't make the same mistakes over and over. Thank you for this piece. It is very well stated.
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