Remembering the American Civil War

Do you suppose there are people in Germany who celebrate the birth of the Nazi Party?  It was started in 1919.  That party is illegal in Germany. According to Wikipedia “victorious Allies outlawed the Nazi Party, its subsidiary organizations, and most of its symbols and emblems (including the swastika in most manifestations) throughout Germany and Austria; this prohibition remains in force.”

Here in the United States we have a different perspective on bad behavior.  We have allowed the Ku Klux Klan to march through Skokie, Illinois, a Jewish neighborhood of Chicago.  Confederate flags can be bought and displayed anywhere.  Thus tonight in Columbia, South Carolina there will be a “Secession Ball” commemorating South Carolina’s decision exactly 150 years ago to secede from the United States of America.

The Associated Press reports “Monday’s ball is like having a dance to celebrate the attack on Pearl Harbor, said Lonnie Randolph, president of the South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.”

Perhaps we should celebrate The Wounded Knee Massacre that happened on December 29, 1890 near Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota.  When that event was over at least 150 men, women, and children of the Lakota Sioux had been killed and only 25 U.S. Army cavalry lost their lives.

Southerners should be ashamed of what they did but they are not.  The Civil War resulted in 110,000 killed in action and a total 620,000 dead (per ABC News).