It's not all about the base names!
It's about how Congress allowed the heritage and ancestors of a major segment of American society to be treated, officially, with disrespect and contempt.
Another great column from Mr. Don Smith over at Confederate Honor - DD
There’s been plenty of news in Washington this week about Confederate base names. In some ways, that’s a good thing. The issue of Confederate base names needs to be hashed out. But in some ways it’s a bad thing.
It obscures all the other bad things the Naming Commission did. Many of the things the Naming Commission did would trouble people who don’t care for Confederate heritage, or even despise it. For example, many people were stunned when the Reconciliation Memorial was removed from Arlington National Cemetery. To many people, that was a step too far. It seemed that Congress was being careless with American heritage.
The Confederate heritage community should emphasize ALL the troubling aspects of how the Naming Commission operated, and (most importantly) what Congress allowed it to do. There is much, much more to talk about than just base names.
The process that the Naming Commission---an agent of the United States Congress---used was unfair to the Confederate heritage community. Congress treated the Confederate heritage community poorly, even disrespectfully, through the Naming Commission process.
That should disturb a lot of people, even people who think the Confederacy and Confederate veterans deserve no respect from the U.S. government. No one wants to see their government officials behave…