Question of the Week: 9/30-10/06/19
While the questioned has been asked, “does the Civil War still matter?”—we thought it could take a personal turn for this week’s discussion:
Why does the Civil War matter to you?
While the questioned has been asked, “does the Civil War still matter?”—we thought it could take a personal turn for this week’s discussion:
Why does the Civil War matter to you?
It matters because it’s part of our American heritage and history and many of our ancestors were involved in the struggle. Some issues of the period still seem unresolved to some, still relevant to others.
Just like any period in history (American or otherwise), the Civil War era shaped the generations that followed. It changed the political, economic, and social environment for our ancestors. The war changed the mindset, beliefs, and values of the American people both in the years after the surrender and up to today. To understand the war is to understand the world we currently live in, all the good and the bad. When we study any aspect of the war, we can see echoes of its effects within our own society. That includes views on racism and equality – though we still struggle with it today. I know reading the stories about the soldiers and civilians on both sides who demonstrated incredible acts of courage and devotion inspires me to be better in similar ways. It also makes me appreciate how far we’ve come since the 19th century in the way of technology and medical care. There are so many things within the war that we can point to and say “We have this now because they had to make it then”. It’s also the old adage of “If we don’t learn from our past, we’re doomed to repeat it” and I think the Civil War is not excluded from that statement.
The Civil War was THE catalyst for the most massive changes within American society and the American psyche. What had been was suddenly no more. It also helped propel the USA into the vestiges of a superpower internationally. What resulted from the CW was seismic, and we are still experiencing the ramifications of it today. If we don’t heed its lessons, we very well might repeat what happened. Our present-day government is involved in uber-partisan gamesmanship instead of addressing the myriad of problems confronting this country. Sides appear to be being drawn (again). That can’t bode well..
The President just threatened another Civil War this morning is things don’t go his way. I have heard no talk of secession, however.
Him and his supporters are threatened with impeachment by folks that don’t like not having their own way. “Our democracy and Republic are falling”… yet they can’t wait until the next Presidential election.
Perhaps it is because the next election will be “fixed” by a President who uses foreign powers to interfere with our 2020 presidential election? Perhaps the 2020 presidential election will be skewed with suppression of the vote through unlawful mechanisms used to suppress the true vote?
Meg is right: 2020 is looking like 1865-1870 although Johnson wasn’t corrupt, just ignorant. This guy is purely corrupt.
Gosh, reading some of these comments, it is evident that there are as many ‘Lost Causers’ concerning Hillary’s loss in 2016 as there were and are from the Civil War! LOL..
Actually, there’s been quite a bit of talk about secession. Whether it’s just hyperbole or not is debatable. Just one example from the last November’s New York Magazine:
“Liberal regions have tended to go bigger with their secession fantasies: Why spin off one’s own state when you could split the whole country and gain the resources and manpower of like-minded compatriots? After John Kerry’s loss in the 2004 election, a homemade digital graphic migrated across the pre-social internet. On it, the states that had cast their electoral votes for Kerry were labeled “the United States of Canada”; George W. Bush’s became “Jesusland.” After Trump’s victory, those memes graduated into op-eds, including from others who would have to acquiesce in the fantasy.”
See: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/maybe-its-time-for-america-to-split-up.html
The Civil War matters in large part because of the nature of our country. We don’t share one ethnic background or thousands of years in one place; our cohesion comes from our civic culture, our Constitution, and our history. In a time when all three are under attack in one form or another, it is critical for us to remember that everything we have as Americans comes from the shattering sacrifices of those who came before us. Many of those sacrifices occurred during our bloodiest conflict. The men who fought and died in the Civil War believed in our country and its ideals and ultimately, they believed in us. By remembering their stories, we stand a better chance of living up to our country’s ideals and honoring all of those who came before us.
It matters to me because it’s part of American history. It also matters to me because I’ve lived in the Shenandoah Valley my whole life. ‘Nuff said.
What?
Douglas Pauly writes: “Gosh, reading some of these comments, it is evident that there are as many ‘Lost Causers’ concerning Hillary’s loss in 2016 as there were and are from the Civil War! LOL..”
Ha! Good one!