The Memory of My Distant Cousin Brings Value to the Tragedy in Charlottesville

The nation watched in horror this weekend as a perverse, angry, bigoted, ignominious white supremacist drove his vehicle into a crowd of liberal ANTIFA demonstrators, killing mercilessly a beautiful young woman. Later in the day as a result of a police helicopter crash two Virgina State Troopers were killed. President Trump denounced the violence, saying correctly, that it had occurred due to violence on "all sides." Virginia governor Terry Macaulife told the White supremacist groups to go home. Pundits and prognosticators were quick to blame the extreme right organizations and their leaders for the young woman's death. Christian web-sites and Pastors denounced "the hate" that the white supremacist had supposedly perpetrated on Charlottesville. The next day two white supremacist leaders sought to have a press conference to defend their group from culpability for these events. The citizens of Charlottesville shouted them down and drove them out of the city, and the media praised those who drowned out their voices.

The media and most politicians went on TV denouncing the white supremacist groups, and calling their demonstrations "hate speech," and declaring anyone with any concern for those groups as terrorist supporters. They also accused the President of racism, because he denounce violence "on all sides." Were  the white supremacists groups that came to Protest this statues removal responsible for these three deaths? Was this horrific event an unintended consequence of the  conservative "alt-right," revealing that at the root of Donald Trump and his campaign is racism? Was Hillary Clinton right are his supporters "deplorable?" Did Trump's failure to denounce the extremist groups as the sole perpetrators of this violence mean he was attempting to shift the blame for these deaths, revealing w his sympathy for extremist group? Did these deaths occur because Trump won the election? Do these protests of the removal of Confederate accouterments prove that the American people are attempting to restore the Jim Crow south? Taken out of context and reacting in the emotion of the moment one does wonder  if violence would have been averted had these guys not shown up. Is the source of the violence and lawlessness we see around us an outgrowth of Conservative or Nationalist movement like those policies advocated by Trump? One only has to watch the main stream media to know their promulgation of the view that the Republican party is passive toward racial oppression and is, therefore, sympathetic to it is the lesson they draw from these events.

One only has to watch the main stream media to know their promulgation of the view that the Republican party is passive toward racial oppression and is, therefore, sympathetic to it is the lesson they draw from these events

Many Christian leaders have adopted the same position, because they think that a failure to support the groups that the media labels "oppressed," opens them to the criticism of religious bigotry. I want to offer a different theory:

Before I offer my theory let me admit my biases: I am a direct descendant of Gen John Henry Lee of Virginia, a signstory of the Declaration of Independence, an incompetent Revolutionary War General, and father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. I am a distant cousin of the Commander of the Army of Northern VA, a son of the Confederacy. I a member of Southern families that immigrated to Georgia before the French and IndianWar. That admission will automatically define me to  many readers. Many people and some African Americans will always define me as bigot now because of my DNA. In some people's eyes any recognition I give to my heritage proves my bigotry. To show that I have advanced beyond the influences of the racist south I must repudiate all my family heritage denounce my family history and leave the Republican Party. The only problem with that view is that it is bigoted. It says that what a person does and believes is determined by DNA and by culture rather than by his individual virtue, "or the content of his character." It makes all white's and especially white Southern  Republican pariah's, because of where they were born.

I have no interest in preserving the legacy of the Confederacy. I have taken heat from some in my family and some of my friends for insisting the "slavery" was in fact the cause of the Civil War, and that my ancestor were on wrong side of the issue.  Even that admission will not satisfy the bigotted left that I am an individual of virtue. As horrible as slavery may been it did  not represent the totality of a person or even a culture. Robert E. Lee was a West Point graduate, a hero of the Mexican American War, a man who though he owned a few slaves advocated for the end of the institution. The abolitionist, Lincoln, knowing Lee's history asked him to lead the Union Army. Lee did something that 21st Century Americans can never comprehend. He declared that his loyalty was to his state above his country.  The scourge of slavery was the very foundation on which the Southern economy was built. While most Southerns claimed to oppose slavery in principle, they were unwilling reform their society. It was a sad testimony the human character. Few of us are willing to do what we know is right, if it cost's too much.

Few of us are willing to do what we know is right, if it cost's too much.

And while the War ended the institution of slavery it did nothing to change the heart of men and women on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Regardless of the war thunderlying issues of bigotry and racism were unresolved. Hatred, bigotry, racism was in no way limited to the Southern states. Lincoln himself spoke frequently of the moral and intellectual inferiority of the black race. The ignominy upon which slavery was built, a view of one group being morally and physically superior was as prevalent in the North as it was in the South. The war did not solve the issue of race. The white supremacists who descended on Charlottesville demonstrate that racism is still alive and well among us, because the human heart remains "desperately wicked." Purging the memory of the Confederacy will make no more progress toward unify the races and the country than the Civil War did. Slavery was symptom of racism, not its cause. Tearing down Confederate statues treats the symptom and ignores the cause, which is evident in the hateful rhetoric of those on all sides of the political perspective. I am responsible for the attitude of my heart, but not for the failures of my ancestors

Where I differ from many of my liberal friends and Christian leadership is that while I have no desire to preserve the legacy of the Confederacy, I  bear no culpability for the sins of my ancestors. I refuse to ask anyone to forgive me for slavery. The slavery of my Confederate ancestors has no affect on me, and if it affects others I bear no culpability for it. Many Christian leaders today seek to hold contemporary Congregations and people responsible for the sins of the past. Pointing to old Testament assemblies-of-the saints for repentance for national sin. They call upon modern Christians and people to assuage the guilt of their ancestors by repudiating them and holding personal remorse. To take the view that American Christians must repent and repudiate the "sins of our fathers," misunderstands not only what happened under the Old Covenant but the basic gospel as revealed in the new. (Deut 24: 16; Ezekiel 18: 1-24). Let me make it clear I bear no remorse, responsibility or obligation because of the sins of previous generation. While I recognize the scourge slavery, and am sad for the oppression it caused. I have no individual remorse for slavery. 

That freedom from guilt has given me the ability to recognize both the honor and the flaws of Confederate leaders and our founders. Once can  honor the good things men do while recognizing their flaws. To biblical passages guide our attitude toward our legacy:

 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned....Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.  (Romans 12: 3; 13:7).

Our leaders are flawed. They are not Gods, and our statues are not idols. We honor those traits that are honorable in our leaders. Our loyalty is not to their image. Therefore we can remember their flaws. When we honor the great principles of liberty that our leaders have fought for, and yet contrast it with their own inconsistencies, we understand that flawed people can over come their own peccadilloes. While I reject any accusation that I bear any culpability for the bigotry that's part of my heritage, I can also live a life of Christian virtue and honor my heritage.  I have stood for the rights of African Americans and others who were oppressed. Rather than seeking to assuage some false sense of responsibility for my ancestors sins, I defend liberty, because it is right.

While living in South Carolina in the 1970's I went with an African American friend into what we call in the south "a cafeteria," similar to a buffet or smörgåsbord. I looked up from my meal to see a man in a white shirt and bow tie, whom I assumed was the restaurant manager, crooking his finger at me. I got up from the table and walked over to him. His facial muscles were tight; his whole body was rigid when he said,

"Son, You're welcome here anytime you want to come, and if that boy with you wants to come in here we have to serve him, like it or not. But don't you ever come in here with that boy again! I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Don't worry. You don't have to pay for your meal."

I was enraged that I would be throne out of a restaurant because of the color of my friend's skin.  Frankly, I thought about calling him a racist, lecturing him on the importance of love and unity. I even considered loudly announcing what was going on and seeing who would walk out with me. Unfortunately in South Carolina in the 70's I would have lost that battle. Instead without demeaning him in any way, I fought injustice and stood for right by doing what was right. "Well sir, Ron, and I will leave, and I can assure you of two things: one we will stop at the cash register and pay our bill, because we have no desire to deny you of what is rightfully yours though you clearly have no concern for what is rightfully ours. We will never stoop to your level. Two, we will leave, and will never come back..."

I stood against racism then with no sense of guilt or shame. I was paying no debt to society. I was merely doing what was right, because it was right. Racism is an extreme form of fear. We hate someone different than us because we think they are a threat. They are going to take our job, destroy our way of life, do physical harm to us. It is insecurity and fear that causes one group of people to declare themselves superior to another. While I disavow my family connections to the Confederacy, I in no way despise my ancestors. They like me, the manager of the cafeteria, my friend, and I were flawed people. As terrible as slavery was, it was not the totality of the South, it is not the pernicious infection in my family tree.  Like all people my Confederate progenitors were products of their time and culture, and were flawed, yet their are admirable qualities even in my racists cousin Robert E. Lee.

I understand that for some, especially some African Americans, the oppression of the plantation system and the segregationist movement of the early  20th century is difficult to look beyond. I personally hope we never look beyond it. I hope we never forget it, and that we learn the lessons of that era. Yet what many are unable to see is that remembering Confederate leaders in no way justifies their actions.  Some would argue the only way to permanently purge racism from the country and to rout out it's terrible effects is to eliminate the memory of slavery and segregation from our midst. This is the argument of the politically correct left, and it is this argument that created the environment of tension in Charlotte.

The cause of  the violence in Charlottesville Virginia was the culture of political correctness. This is undeniable when you analyze these events in view of more recent racial tensions. On Friday night a group of people gathered legally in Robert E. Lee square. They had a permit and exercised their First Amendment Right to peacefully assemble to protest the removal of the Statue.  The next day the streets filled with  white-supremacist, Nazi sympathizers and KKK members who came to Charlottesville to protest the removal of statues while they too had a right to peacefully assemble they peacefully some objected to their presence because of their point of view. They held views that were repulsive to most  Americans.  Frankly, I could care less whether they keep a statue of my cousin in Charlottesville or not. Yet, until those protesters committed a crime or advocated or conspired to commit a crime they were law abiding citizens. There is no law against ignorance or the holding a disgusting world view. The First Amendment protects even the rights of white Supremacist to think what they think and even to spew their disgusting rhetoric.

 Along with those White Supremacist also came ANTIFA protesters who brought clubs and sticks to attack the liberties of the others. ANTIFA is the marxist group that grew out of Occupy Wallstreet, and includes members of groups life Black Lives matter. They are know to instigate violence to silence those with whom they disagree. Yet they too had every right to be in Charlottesville protesting what they saw as monuments to racism.  This combination of right and left wing extremist was poorly managed by the city. Separate areas for protest were not provided. No barriers were established between the groups to keep them apart. Little preparation was done to anticipate whether dangerous people might be coming and to remove them from the area. It was a comedy of errors, that was anything but funny. Yet the ANTIFA protesters showed up in attire with weapons and shouted threatening slogans to the white supremacist. They intended to silence their message and deny them their liberty 

It is precisely that liberty that Lee and others sought to deny their slaves. It is precisely the liberty to hold socially repulsive views that the Civil War guaranteed "to ourselves and our posterity." I find the speech of Black Nationalist, and Black Muslims repulsive and hateful. I find it absolutely disgusting and infuriating that a church in Witchita, Kansas protests at the funerals of American veterans which they somehow associate with advocating homosexuality. I find it reprehensible when a group of people run through a city street advocating the murder of cops. And yet all of these forms of speech are Constitutionally protected. President Barak Obama welcomed Black Lives Matter leaders to the White House. It is the free expression of even disgustingly offensive views  around which this county unifies.

I have heard many well intentioned people who have in one breathed called for unity, and in the next sought to silence speech they have found objectionable. How can they fail to see the incongruity of that position?  When we tells those who disagree with us that their speech can't be heard or their thought can't be thought or their monument is offensive we are actually acting out the same bigotry we protest. Political Correctness suppression of everything that is offensive is what divides this country, rather than those who espouse extreme rhetoric. 

The proof of this is all around us. When  ANTIFA protesters prevent Conservatives from speaking on Universities, do they bring conservatives and liberals together in common understanding? Does suppression of speech unify people? When people express their unhappiness at the election of Donald Trump and hold rallies, but exclude pro-life women from them, do they bring unity among the pro-life and pro-choice advocates? Do those who seek to stamp out all memories of slavery and the Confederacy bring a unity of understanding with those who memorialize them , or do they merely demonize a whole class of people?

Two things caused the riots in Charlottesville: first, those who, however, well intention thought that misguided or disgusting speech could be refuted by silencing it, or that offensive ideas could be diminished through suppression. Those who would seek to discredit our national heritage and deny our history by eliminating any record of our sins. The second followed on the first. Apparently because the city found the ideas of the protesters abominable (a position this author agrees with) they chose to neglect their right of its advocates to peacefully assemble for their cause, and failed to provide an adequate security perimeter for either group. The alternate protest groups was allowed to have proximity to each other so that emotions flared. Where were the barriers, and barricades and protections? Where were the trucks parked at intersections to prevent this kind of attack? Security was minimal, at best. The failure here was not with the White Supremacist, but with liberals and media types who believe the only approved values they are worthy of protection, which by definition is tyranny.

The lesson to be taken from Charlottesville is that the setting aside of individual liberty for a collectivist ideal always result in oppression and the death of innocents. The death of the young girl and two officers were reprehensible, but it was not speech that killed them. It was an evil maniac carrying out his hate.  I would argue that the lesson to be learned from Charlottesville is that the politically correct who shout for the suppression of speech are no better than the ugly White Supremacists whom they rage against. The lesson of Charlottesville is that when liberty is lost oppression reigns and innocent people die .

How is that a statue of my misguided distant cousin is somehow seen as proof that all who remember him are somehow guilty of his sin. The President was right to ask, "where does it end?" Do we tear down the Washington Monument or the Jefferson Memorial? If so then we must raise the Roosevelt memorial, as he incarcerate a class of people based soley on their race. Liberals and advocates of political correct speech refuse to recognize this inconsistency because they believe their position is inherently morally superior, and that therefore their flaws should be ignored. Should we tear down the Lincoln memorial because his wife had relatives in the Confederacy, or because he believed in the superiority of the white race.? Should we ban Huckleberry Finn because it uses racist language and portrays a stereotype of a dialogue that African Americans spoke. Was Mark Twain a racist?

Let's be clear those who would remove all vestiges of our past from our memory are not defenders of the oppressed. They have no intention of advancing liberty. Those who wish to control thought and expression are as oppressive as those who put neck rings around the people and sell them on a dock. And those who argue that we should silence disgusting speech to promote "love and unity" understand neither. What we love as Americans and what unifies us is liberty not the politically correct opinion. The love and unity that has driven this nation to be the freest most benevolent and virtuous nation in history is our defense of liberty. Those who wish to control speech are a far greater danger to this country than those who speak offensively. Political correctness is  a bigger threat to race relations in this country than the existence of white supremacist. Those who advocate it openly seek to oppress not to liberate. It is they whom I oppose.