tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29249921.post6576578057379742176..comments2024-03-28T08:56:49.153-07:00Comments on Davelandblog: Monument MondayDavelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10720475138513029144noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29249921.post-70155097068363574542017-10-02T16:22:02.671-07:002017-10-02T16:22:02.671-07:00I agree with you beachgal. I have a love for hist...I agree with you beachgal. I have a love for history, specifically, early American history (1600's - 1865). My interest in the American Civil War grew in college under Dr. Ronald Rietveld at Cal State Fullerton (see article: http://calstate.fullerton.edu/news/Inside/2009/ronald-rietveld-feted.html) While in his class I met several reenactors and my buddy, Cliff Cramp, and I joined a group who reenacted the 19th Indiana Infantry Regiment. Reenacting gave me a whole new perspective on what happened, how it happened, where it happened and most importantly why it happened. I met a lot of truly amazing historians along the way. I like how you put it, "I don't agree with flying the Confederate flag - but I sure think statues and other things in historical context... that we need to preserve." <br /><br />Ken Burn's epic, The Civil War, begins with Historian Shelby Foote saying, "Any understanding of this nation has to be based and I mean really based on the understanding of Civil War. I believe that firmly, it defined us. The revolution did what it did. Our involvement in European wars began with the first World War did what it did, but the Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became — good and bad things.<br /><br />And it is very necessary if you’re going to understand the American character in the 20th Century, to learn about this enormous catastrophe in the mid-19th Century. It was the crossroads of our being and it was a hell of a crossroads."<br /><br />Now, I am not a huge fan of Shelby Foote, sometimes appearing a little too "pro South" in my opinion (that comment may cost me), but what he said here was true not only for the American character in the 20th Century but I believe the 21st Century and beyond.<br /><br />Always your pal,<br />Amazon BelleMatthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00255173466705979931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29249921.post-11211333874093254432017-10-02T16:21:21.513-07:002017-10-02T16:21:21.513-07:00Well put, Beachgal. Covering it up or removing it ...Well put, Beachgal. Covering it up or removing it doesn't change history. These monuments can be a great teaching tool. If only we the people could learn to respect each other and have civil and meaningful conversations where we could learn from one another and live peacefully.Davelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10720475138513029144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29249921.post-84579934571564753992017-10-02T15:08:00.727-07:002017-10-02T15:08:00.727-07:00I don't agree with flying the confederate flag...I don't agree with flying the confederate flag - but I sure think statues and other things in historical context like battlefields and tours of historic homes is something of our American history that we need to preserve. It's a tale of one of the most horrific issues our country ever faced and something we should not forget.<br />One of the best tours I took while in Alexandria, was Lee's boyhood home. I was the only one on the tour and of course my guide was a member of the esteemed Lee family of VA.beachgalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17145677285299398734noreply@blogger.com