VA-SOUTHSIDE-L Archives

Archiver > VA-SOUTHSIDE > 2000-04 > 0956502735


From: (James Dale Sands)
Subject: [VA-SOUTHSIDE-L] History
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 11:12:15 -0400


I have always stood firm on my heartfelt belief that the Civil War was fought by the children of poor farmers. They had no choice but to defend their homes and families from those that would destroy all they touched. The rich and powerful from the North and South, started a war that they themselves would not shed one drop of blood for. They destroyed the south and divided families forever. 500,000 children from the South and the North, were slaughtered for no other reason but to keep the rich and powerful from losing their lavish lifestyles. Poor people had no slaves or fancy houses, nor money to spend. The average southerner was considered lucky to be buried on a small patch of land that he had spent a lifetime working to pay for. His only hope was that his children would have a better life than he. People seldom had nice clothes to wear and at times not enough to eat. So would someone please tell me how they could have bought 500 dollar slaves to work on their small farms? Sorry. That war is so misunderstood. I wish the truth would come out in our history books. The Revolutionary War, Human Slavery, The Native American War, World War I, The Depression, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War and many other sad events in our Nations History, have been the ingredients to make the United States Of America the greatest nation on earth. Now that ain't bad. History is our greatest teacher and can not be changed, nor should it be changed for any reason, good or bad. My family has lived in the south for more than 250 years and I am proud of each and every one of them. They may have been white, they may have been black, they may have been Native American, they may have came from other countries, they may have fought and died for the love of the south, they may have been slaves, but there is one thing that's a fact I hold dear to my heart. It took each and every one of them to make me the man I am today. All I have and enjoy, was paid for by the sweat and blood of my family past. No black person, nor white person in their right mind would change the past, for their family history has given them the right to live in the greatest nation on earth. I think any forum that promotes the understanding of our American history, good, bad, white, red, yellow, black or whatever, is good for the heart and soul of all America. The Confederate Flag was and is a part of American history and it stood for many different things to many different people. Some good, some bad. Do we stop flying the Stars and Bars because the United States Army flew that flag when they slaughtered women and children in American Indian camps? Do we stop flying the Stars and Bars because we killed thousands and thousands of women and children in the undeclared war in Vietnam? A flag is only a symbol of the hearts and minds of those that support it. It should be left up to those individual hearts and minds to decide what that flag means. The Confederate Flag is no different than the Stars and Bars in what it stands for. It all depends on how they are used. So enjoy your lives and keep in mind that through the blood of many Americans, you have the right to say what you think and enjoy all that life has to offer. J D Sands

This thread: