Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Presidntial Wreath

Do you think President Obama should not have sent a wreath to the Confederate Memorial?
Did he avoid controversy by sending a wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial?

7 comments:

  1. I think the President was ill advised in sending a wreath to the Confederate Soldier Memorial. I know he's the president of all the people but I still think it's wrong

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  2. Oh, what a difficult situation. Truthfully, he's "darned if you do, darned if you don't".

    As president Mr. Obama needs to maintain unity. He's soothing ruffled feathers at every turn. Stopping the Confederate wreath tradition would have ignited a huge controversy.

    My personal feeling is "no": there should not be a wreath. Individual soldiers have been recognized with pensions and government-issued headstones, speeches and poetry, oral legends and novels. Movies. There are literally thousands of groups in America which honor the individual Confederate soldiers for their tremendous personal sacrifices, their bravery, and their commitment to their perceived duty.

    A wreath laying ceremony is an act of honor and recognition for the group as a whole, however, whether that is explicitly stated or not. We need to recognize that this the Confederates are a group which took up arms against the Federal government. The issue over which this group fought was slavery. People talk about "states' rights" but the right they were most ruffled about was slavery.

    Slavery: the subjugation, abuse and humiliation of millions of African-Americans.

    No matter what people say about state rights, slavery was the key issue for the Confederates' desire to forcefully separate from the Federal government. As such, I don't feel that there should be a wreath laying ceremony.

    With apologies to those who have Confederate ancestors.

    I too have Confederate ancestors and it's a harsh truth to come to terms with. Just as African Americans need to come to terms with the fact that fellow Africans sold their ancestors into slavery, I need to come to terms with the fact that my ancestors fought to maintain that horrible institution.

    I don't fault Mr. Obama for continuing the Confederate wreath laying ceremony. He represents the nation as a whole, and that ceremony is important to millions of Americans. But I DO fault him for not nurturing a bigger and more public wreath laying ceremony at the African American Civil War Memorial. African American Civil War soldiers fought so long for respect and even for equal pay. Think about how proud and grateful and moved they would have been to know that some day they would be recognized publicly by an African American president!

    Perhaps we should all write letters to Mr. Obama in regard to the next wreath-laying ceremony?

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  3. Barack Obama is the President of the United States of America. United--being the key word requires that he use ultimate wisdom in decisions sensitive to all Americans. Therefore, considering the bigger picture, it is not Pres. Obama who brings significance to the Confederate Memorial or to the African American Civil War Memorial--it is the people who visit the memorials throughout the year. He acknowleges their presence once a year whereas thousands of Americans honor the Memorials all year long. Consider this perspective: While President Obama acknowledged the Confederate Memorial, this does not mean that he honors its origin. Acknowledge and honor are not the same. When the head of our country acknowledges the Memorials he keeps the fact that these historical events did occur and are an unforgettable part of our history--and that should be his role. 'Lest we forget!

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  4. The president did the right thing to send a wreath to the Confederate Museum.There are times when we need to show others that we are above negative criticism. Life is too short.
    I am very proud that he send one to the African American Civil War Museum too.

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  5. I think that President Obama should not have left a wreath at the Confederate Memorial. What the Confederates fought for was immoral to say the least. Black people were forced to support White people in this country for centuries and they used the worst forms of terrorism to accomplish this. If Hitler had a memorial, would someone laying a wreath there be acceptable? Is it acceptable to lay a wreath on the memorials of anyone who was guilty of committing genocide on Native Americans? Wrong is wrong and should be publicly stated as such. God said not to kill and not to steal.

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  6. Some of you may be right in how you feel about our president laying a wreath at the memorial site. Seeing as I have a g g grandfather and g g uncle (two) that gave their lives in the Civil War USCI,54th and 41st, etc. I felt it was long past due that someone outside of those that work there to continue to hold onto our heritage for us, didn't have to put something down that should have been placed in front of the Civil War Museum a long time ago. If we can lay wreaths on those who held us in slavery that we fought and died for but never got the coverage for, as they did--then you all have an issue about someone showing what we did whether it was on one side of the war or not. Be proud that at least our President stepped out to do what I haven't heard any other president do for us.

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