Letter to the Editor "Let's You and Him Fight"

Many people don't understand the complex relationship many white Southerners have with the past and the Civil War. Except for Antietam and Gettysburg, the Civil War was almost entirely fought in the South. Our great great grandparents lived through that destruction and what came after. We've heard the stories that have passed down to us. My father (as an example), born in 1919, grew up around Civil War veterans in south Georgia.

Many of us have a mixture of views and feelings, not all black and white, not either this or that. We feel a sense of pride for our ancestors who volunteered, fought and often died. We know their names, what they did, where they're buried. We've heard the stories of their lives. We have an urge to remember and honor them. We have respect for such storied men as Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson. For us, statues are not a glorification of slavery, they simply remind us of our past and the wide array of feelings that we have. I know this because I've had these feelings myself upon viewing the statue of Jackson at Manassas Battlefield.

AND-- we're happy that the North won the War, supremely grateful that the evil of slavery was ended and the Union was preserved, sad that President Lincoln was tragically assassinated. We're proud, patriotic Americans. We hold no prejudice toward our fellow Black Americans or any other color or ethnic group-- even though the media likes to portray us in that way. We're lovers and defenders of our nation and of our Constitution.

Please don't confuse us with a handful of White Supremacists and neo-Nazis. We don't like them either. And we don't like Antifa and BLM; we've too often seen them in the news committing egregious acts of mayhem and violence. Violence only begets violence and more violence.

Remember, in 1913, 48 years after the Civil War ended, a reunion of veterans was held at Gettysburg, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Former enemies visited, ate together, helped continue the binding together of the Union begun by President Lincoln years earlier. If our warrior ancestors who fought to kill each other can do this over 100 years ago-- so must we today.

Now, some forces in our nation are attempting to forge a new wound where healing has already occurred. This is being done for political ends and is fueled by a sensationalist media ever-hungry for ratings. They are attempting to re-ignite old grievances and resentments. For the sake of our own happiness and that of our country, we must not participate in this tribalism, this hatred, this attempt to re-ignite a civil war, where we demonize and try to destroy each other.

There's an old Southern saying for this stirring up of violence by third parties:
"Let's you and him fight." We must remember that we're all united as Americans, all created by God, all sharing this nation and this planet together.
We are better than the endless blame-game and manipulations currently making the rounds. America has always been a leader among nations. Let's give each other and our leaders the benefit of a doubt and focus on what we can achieve together.

Joseph Howard
North Carolina
August 17, 2017

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