When does it go too far? Human beings were killed by a psychotic racist murderer in Charleston and now there is a movement to wipe away anything to do with the Confederate States of America. Towns in the south are proposing the removal of memorials honoring the soldiers of the Confederacy. The National Cathedral has scheduled the replacement of two stained glass windows, each with an image of Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. TV Land is pulling The Dukes of Hazzard reruns. And Southern governors are calling for the removal of a flag from state grounds. I am inclined to ask, "Why?" The American Civil War was the darkest time our nation has ever faced. It seemed that the Great Experiment was about to fall apart. There were many reasons for this. Certainly slavery was one of them. It was even a major one. However, to say it was the only one is as ignorant and inaccurate as totally denying that it was a cause in the first place. Just as today and as it has been throughout history, those with money decide the course that nations take. The little guy is always along for the ride and they are the ones who pay for it in their own blood and sweat. It was no different then. The rich who could afford slaves saw the tide of public opinion turning against them. Yes, they wanted to keep their slaves. The people who could not, though. What about them? At the time, the rules of war were much different. Today, the military does everything they can to prevent collateral damage. Back then, there was no such thing as a surgical strike. The military was a blunt instrument of destruction and people knew that. They knew that an enemy army was likely to burn their homes and destroy their means to make a living. In short, the common, every day Confederate soldier was more than likely worried more abut protecting his home and family rather than an economic idea that he could never participate in. Many of them confronted the might of the US Army for that very reason. To defend one's home and family against such overwhelming odds, that takes an uncommon courage. A courage that should never be white washed because of some racist ass hat. Lee and Jackson were the heroes and the modern faces of the Confederacy. Not many people know much about those men though. Lee was a very generous man. His acts of kindness made him a legend among the soldiers that he lead. True his family owned slaves, but it has been documented that Lee freed his slaves upon inheriting them. He even pushed for the confederate government to declare any black man who joined the army a free man. This does not sound like a racist to me. This sounds like a man who tried to work within a system to bring about the first steps of change. Jackson was known to financially support Sunday School classes for slaves that taught them how to read. Again, does not sound like a racist to me. We know so little about the real men but we do not care to learn more about them. The Dukes of Hazzard. I know most people on this forum may have no clue what that show was, but I can tell you that it certainly was not racist. The Dukes were just a couple of good ol' boys that ran moonshine and did stupid stuff with their car, the General Lee. The only reason the show was pulled was because the car had the Confederate battle flag on the top of the car. That is the only reason. Because of an image. I know some black people see it as a symbol of oppression and slavery. I get that and I understand that. My question is, "why remove it?" Out of sight, out of mind? The time of slavery will always be there. Removing the flag will not change the fact that at one time, people of African descent were slaves. This is not something to be angry about. On the contrary, this flag should be a tool to remember the dark times. To remember that there was a time when life was harsh, harsher for them than anyone else and they made it through. I would say, "own that flag." Use it to represent the fact that you rose from the lowest form of human existence to where you are now. That flag can represent so many different thing to so many people in the South. Do not let the racist claim it for their own. To use it in the way I described would piss them off more than if you took it down. Sorry for the length. I don't expect replies. I just had to get this off my chest.