by Ron Osterberg
Like most Civil War buffs, I admire Robert E. Lee both as a person and as a general. That’s why I had mixed feelings after the statue ruckus in Charlottesville. I think I now see most sides of this controversy and, given some of the people involved, that’s not easy.
By modern and pre Civil War standards, Lee was a good man. After he surrendered at Appomattox, he urged his comrades to go home and resume being good citizens of the United States. He reacted with horror when firebrands wanted to wage guerilla warfare in the mountains. He greatly treasured order and respect for the law. In reacting strongly, he saved the nation from more bloodshed.
Lee was a slaveholder, but not a radical. Before the war, he wrote in a letter to his wife, “In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country.” He added that “it was a greater evil to the white man than to the black race,” a view not likely shared by many blacks.
Also, he was not always the gentle Lee we read about in history books. After three of his slaves ran away and were caught, Lee ordered them tied to a tree and given fifty lashes. “Lay it on well” he told the constable. The female runaway slave received only twenty.
Books have been written about the many moral sides of Robert E. Lee and their conclusions are anything but unanimous. In the years following the war, he was revered with religious devotion in the south and almost complete forgiveness in the north. Yet, many called him “Traitor Lee” to their dying day. Some Confederates blamed him for more battlefield carnage than was necessary, General Pickett among them. He reportedly shouted that Lee slaughtered his division at Gettysburg.
From whatever angle we look at Lee, he was a complex figure and the statue controversy highlights the good and the bad of him. People on all sides look at the matter from different viewpoints, especially blacks. Everyone has their own lens.
Can anyone know the pain of being descended from slaves if they are not black? How can anyone but a black person know what it’s like to walk past the statue of a man who may have enslaved one of their ancestors? If something greatly offends one group of people, it’s immoral to dismiss it as frivolous and it’s discourteous not to consider it. Though it’s hard to know another person’s pain, we must try.
On the other side, all cultures have heroes and it’s silly to demand dismissing them when the political winds change, especially if the changes are sudden. Generations of Americans grew up honoring Confederate heroes. They were interesting people who did interesting things.
Some say that the statues represent the historical memory of a heroic age, but most were put up when the south was installing Jim Crow laws, between 1876 and 1920. The statues were post-bellum propaganda for the laws enforcing segregation, but they also buoyed up a region of the country with massive self esteem issues. We should use care in demolishing someone’s crutch.
G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.” Taking a statue down might make some feel better, but it might make others feel worse. Those protesting the statue’s removal in Charlottesville are stinky people. That shouldn’t overwhelm our desire to understand the rationale of people with similar opinions, but who don’t act so reprehensibly.
Understanding does not imply that we tolerate the repugnant actions of demented protesters. Most of those favoring letting the statues remain are gentle people who are egalitarian to their core. Never judge a group by the worst of them. Still, the president truly shocked me when he offered his statement insinuating that all sides have equally valid points, even after a lunatic ran over Heather Heyer. Like most Americans, I find the KKK and Nazi party disgusting beyond measure. I wanted to punish those who honored them, even if it violated my core morality.
On the other hand, no one wants a return to the fifties when zealots looked everywhere sniffing out communist sympathizers. Citing the atrocities of Stalin, they vowed to use whatever means necessary to root out all domestic communists. During the subsequent witch hunt, thousands of lives were professionally ruined by direct charges and by innuendo. Some were blacklisted simply because they didn’t show the proper enthusiasm for naming names. Many good people allowed their fear of being labeled soft on communism to outweigh their sense of decency.
However, proud self-confident people find ways to regain objectivity and understand their reasons if not their actions. For a period, that was almost impossible for me after hearing marchers chant, “Jews will not replace us.” They overwhelmed me with disgust and loathing. My son-in-law and three grandchildren are Jewish. I found myself hating the protesters with an intensity that surprised me. If President Trump, who also has a Jewish son-in-law and Jewish grandchildren, took offense from the chants, he didn’t show it. What am I missing?
