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Old 04-12-2010, 03:16 AM
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Default Were Confederate soldiers terrorists?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/1...ex.html?hpt=C1

Editor's note: Roland S. Martin, a CNN political analyst, is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith," and the new book, "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House." He is a commentator for TV One Cable Network and host of a Sunday morning news show.

(CNN) -- Based on the hundreds of e-mails, Facebook comments and Tweets I've read in response to my denunciation of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's decision to honor Confederates for their involvement in the Civil War -- which was based on the desire to continue slavery -- the one consistent thing that supporters of the proclamation offer up as a defense is that these individuals were fighting for what they believed in and defending their homeland.

In criticizing me for saying that celebrating the Confederates was akin to honoring Nazi soldiers for killing of Jews during the Holocaust, Rob Wagner said, "I am simply defending the honor and dignity of men who were given no choice other than to fight, some as young as thirteen."

Sherry Callahan said that supporting the Confederacy is "our history. Not hate; it's about heritage and history."

Javier Ramirez called slavery evil, but prefaced his remarks by saying that "Confederate soldiers were never seen as terrorists by [President Abraham] Lincoln or U.S. generals on the battlefield. They were accorded POW status, they were never tried for war crimes. Not once did Confederate soldiers do any damage to civilians or their property in their invasion of the north. The same is not true of Union soldiers."

Realskirkland sent me a Tweet saying, "Slavery is appalling, but was not the only reason for the CW [Civil War]. Those men, while misguided on some fronts stood up for what they felt was right. They embodied that American ideal that the states have a right to govern themselves. THAT is what a confederate soldier stood for."

If you take all of these comments, don't they sound eerily similar to what we hear today from Muslim extremists who have pledged their lives to defend the honor of Allah and to defeat the infidels in the West?

When you make the argument that the South was angry with the North for "invading" its "homeland," Osama bin Laden has said the same about U.S. soldiers being on Arab soil. He has objected to our bases in Saudi Arabia, and that's one of the reasons he has launched his jihad against us. Is there really that much of a difference between him and the Confederates? Same language; same cause; same effect.

If a Confederate soldier was merely doing his job in defending his homeland, honor and heritage, what are we to say about young Muslim radicals who say the exact same thing as their rationale for strapping bombs on their bodies and blowing up cafes and buildings?

If the Sons of Confederate Veterans use as a talking point the vicious manner in which people in the South were treated by the North, doesn't that sound exactly like the Taliban saying they want to kill Americans for the slaughter of innocent people in Afghanistan?

Defenders of the Confederacy say that innocent people were killed in the Civil War; hasn't the same argument been presented by Muslim radicals in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places where the U.S. has tangled with terrorists?

We can't on the one hand justify the actions of Confederates as being their duty as valiant men of the South, and then condemn the Muslim extremists who want to see Americans die a brutal death. These men are held up as honorable by their brethren, so why do Americans see them as different from our homegrown terrorists?

The fundamental problem with extremism is that when you're on the side that is fanatical, all of your actions make sense to you, and you are fluent in trying to justify every action. Every position of those you oppose is a personal affront that calls for you to do what you think is necessary to protect yourself and your family.

Just as radical Muslims have a warped sense of religion, Confederate supporters have a delusional view of what is honorable. The terrorists are willing to kill their own to prove their point, and the Confederates were just as willing in the Civil War to take up arms against their fellow Americans to justify their point.

Even if you're a relative of one of the 9/11 hijackers, that man was an out-and-out terrorist, and nothing you can say will change that. And if your great-great-great-granddaddy was a Confederate who stood up for Southern ideals, he too was a terrorist.

They are the same.

As a matter of conscience, I will not justify, understand or accept the atrocious view of Muslim terrorists that their actions represent a just war. They are reprehensible, and their actions a sin against humanity.

And I will never, under any circumstances, cast Confederates as heroic figures who should be honored and revered. No -- they were, and forever will be, domestic terrorists.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland Martin.
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Old 04-12-2010, 05:50 AM
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I guess we all got belly buttons and opinions but his sure don't look like mine at all.
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Old 04-12-2010, 06:28 AM
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The Federals taxed the Southern States so much that their only choice was cheap labor, slave or indentured servant but the South did feed the North so the North only had one choice which was to take that Confederate Nation back.
When the Federals arrived in the most productive city the Confederate Nation had they chose to burn it down. The people of Atlanta no longer had homes to go to or even food to feed themselves with.
On the way to Jonesboro, Federal Forces stopped at a home on Fayetteville Rd. east of what is today Newnan, Ga. and asked an eleven year old boy where his father was. The boy didn't know so what choice did the Federals have but to shaughter the boy and leave his body at the front of his home for every one to see that you don't mess with the Federals.
As the Federals passed south of Fayetteville they came upon a wagon train of fleeing Southern war refugees a mile and a half south of the center of town. The Norths reaction to those trying to run away from them was to attack the wagons and take what was in them and the horses that were pulling them.
The Bluecoats then moved accross Fayetteville Rd. and onto Jonesboro where they came upon a railroad train that was loaded with Southern munitions. The Federals had no idea what was in that train but when the Blue shot at that train the incoming round hit a rail car and blew up everything within 300 yards, man, woman and child included. The tracks were distroyed naturally which left one of the greatest supply lines to Atlanta useless. Atlanta could not rebuild until there was no war. After leaving Jonesboro General Sherman and his men in Blue proceeded to head even further South only to distroy everything in their path because they wanted a cook-out in Savanah and they would use that city for their fire pit fuel. Sherman made his "march to the sea" in such a friendly way didn't he?
The Yankees were such a wonderful, honorable people wheren't they?
The Yankees were such a wonderful, honorable group, weren't they?
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Old 04-12-2010, 07:16 AM
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Default seeing the elephant

On that theory, then the Continental Army were also domestic terrorists.
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Old 04-12-2010, 07:25 AM
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Then there's Quantrill's Raiders...

Atrocities are not relegated to official armies. Any given side in any given war murdered civilians and destroyed property for no other reason than they could. During the Peninsula Campaign of the Napolianic Wars, the French Grand Armee and their Polish allies slaughtered Spanish and Portuguese civilians mercilessly. This lead to Iberian guerillas mutilating French and Polish soldiers in relaliation.

The Southern campaigns during the American Revolution turned into a virtual civil war; Loyalists vs. Whigs with murder and mayhem a frequent occurence.

The Tartars, Mongolians and Turks raped, plundered, and killed their way East to West across Europe.

The so called Christian Crusaders not only slaughtered Muslim and Jew alike but turned their military power on Orthodox Christians.

Stories of man's inhumanity to man can be found throughout history. Not that I'm condoning the methods's of Sherman's March but it was nothing new and will continue to happen, because that's the way we are.

One man's soldier is another man's terrorist.
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Old 08-31-2010, 03:52 PM
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Many of my family members signed their Parole Papers with at X. None of them owned a slave or wanted to own a slave. In their minds, from what history I can find on them, they were defending their Country. Their Country was that little piece of Farm, not Plantation, that had been in the family. And of course, many of them never saw their farms nor family again.

Talking about wanting to get home, check out my Great Great Grand Uncle (think that is right) I knew that he was a POW at Elmira due to war records. I have been told that he was a honory old cuss with a temper as fiery as his red hair. Family members have shared with me that Through family stories passed on to them, that when the war ended he was released and walked the 1000+ miles back home to Greenville, Alabama. Long walk to get back to Home and Country.

Go back and Read the Lincoln/Douglas Debates and see how Mr. Lincoln really felt about the Races. Not political either! Anyway, for me, a Southerner Born in Montgomery, Alabama, the war is over.... With one exception, The twisting and disappearance of History is pathetic. It is all our history, the great and awful. Yet it is who we are and where we come from and hopefully helps us be better in the future. Twisting History and erasing from our history books only hides and manipulates truth.

Terrorists, well they are still alive today and working a biased and untruthful keyboard to brainwash and inslave people to guilt when they have also ripped pages of history out of books for political purposes.

Anyway, the war is over!
We have more important things going on in this nation, Old Glory is about to be taken down and we're going to have to Bow to a King if we are not careful. You want to deal with Slavery, we are really close to the incarsaration of America at this very moment. How will history tell this story? Guess it depends on who is allowed to type it up!

Take Care Yall
Stay Safe
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