Letter to the Editor

Civil War Lucrative Part of History

Those who are on a (self-righteous) Confederate destruction crusade need to look at the Civil War through the eyes of visitors. Although many famous battles were fought outside of Virginia, the state of Virginia is truly the embodiment of the Civil War and the Confederacy! People from across America (including foreign countries) interested in Civil War history travel thousands of miles to see historic sites in this state. The monuments and flags that represent the Confederacy are sought out and expected by those who don’t live here.

When “out-of-state” people see historic landmarks relating to the Civil War, they flock to them to have their pictures taken next to them. People who were born and raised here don’t seem to place the same value on Civil War history. Locals hurriedly drive through Appomattox and hardly give that area a second thought. Those interested in history or who’ve seen the Ken Burns account of the Civil War are spell bound by Appomattox … as if standing on Holy ground!

Meanwhile, those who live here and/or hold Civil War monuments in contempt (wanting them removed) are killing the goose that lays golden eggs! What visitors travel long distances and pay big money to see is being systematically eradicated! Banishing Civil War monuments across the south has suddenly become a frenzied epidemic! This behavior could be likened to the zealot ISIS fighters in Iraq who delight in destroying priceless statues of ancient history or even Hitler’s book burning campaign!

If all the southern states value tourist dollars that pour in because of the Civil War history that pervades this part of our country, one might strongly recommend leaving alone what others (at least) still value as priceless American history!

Karl Schmidt

Farmville

Send your letters to
editor@southsidemessenger.com. Please include your name and town; we do not print anonymous letters. It is not the responsibility of the newspaper to fact-check for accuracy; we run letters as-is. We reserve the right to reject any letter for any reason. Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily that of the Southside Messenger.