The ugliness of the Left...

...and the Right

When folks are struck by the events of recent days, they'll often reminisce about what it was like in days of old, thinking their rose-colored glasses beheld the past with crystal clarity. I do this and ache for times less caustic and crass. Then a friend will slap me up side the head and declare, "They were as ugly then as we are today."

Perhaps.

But then I'll read something in history that will make me stop and think, "No, perhaps it was better, more restrained." 

I'm in the midst of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs, really a look at his time growing up through the end of the Civil War. A couple of things that he wrote indicate that things have changed. Consider this anecdote. When writing about the ornery nature of pack mules, Grant wrote, "I am not aware of ever having used a profane expletive in my life; but I would have the charity to excuse those who may have done so, if they were in charge of a train of Mexican pack mules at the time." Really? A man who rose through the military ranks, became a general in time of the most gruesome war, and then went on to the office of President of the United States and to never use profanity?

Not only that, he would excuse those who had to work with Mexican pack mules. This would lead one to believe that he would not (and perhaps did not) in other circumstances. Considering the expletives that substitute for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs today all when discussing things of such gravity as whether the next Star Wars movie will ruin the saga or if it's already beyond repair, I would say its fair to say that we have changed much from one-hundred and fifty years ago.

What struck me last night as I read was how Grant looked back on the aftermath of the Battle of Vicksburg, one of the turning points of the war between North and South, brother and brother. After the siege was ended, Grant wrote,

"Our men had had full rations from the time the siege commenced, to the close. The enemy had been suffering, particularly towards the last. I myself saw our men taking bread from their haversacks and giving it to the enemy they had so recently been engaged in starving out. It was accepted with avidity and with thanks."

These men had been shooting each other. They stood opposed to each other politically. Each had invaded the home-soil of the other.

Grant allowed no retribution, "The prisoners were allowed to occupy their old camps behind the intrenchments. No restraint was put upon them except by their own commanders. They were rationed about as our own men, and from our own supplies." And then wrote about what he witnessed of the interaction between Gray and Blue in his matter-of-fact style:

"The men of the two armies fraternized as if they had been fighting for the same cause. When they passed out of the works they had so long and so gallantly defended, between lines of their late antagonists, not a cheer went up, not a remark was made that would give pain. Really, I believe there was a feeling of sadness just then in the breasts of most of the Union soldiers at seeing the dejection of their late antagonists."

There was no loathing. None rejoiced at the defeat of the other. Oh, certainly they rejoiced in their victory, but they did not turn and rub the noses of the defeated in the blood of their shattered comrades. 

Where is this today? As the surrender of Vicksburg approached, the fact that it was going to occur near the 4th of July weighed heavy on both sides. Why? A common heritage. A love for the Declaration of Independence and all for which it stood. Where is the common ground today between the Left and the Right?

Can we all not rejoice in peace overtures on the Korean Peninsula?

Can we all not recoil in horror as Syria gasses its own people?

What happened to our ability to restrain the darkness of our hearts and not blurt out its every venomous inkling on Twitter or in response to some perceived slight on social media?

Why will we not go the extra mile and try to defeat an idea with argument as opposed to slander or some glib meme all the while holding the dignity of the opponent in high regard?

This is a different day, a different time. I am no perfect man. I would love to raise more glasses and debate more issues with those with whom I disagree. It seems the sun is setting with greater speed on the likelihood of such opportunities. 

Will we take them while we can and share the rations of our haversacks?

150 years of Blue & Gray

I am a Yankee.  No, I am NOT a fan of the boys in pinstripes.  I grew up in the north.  Though I've not lived in Minnesota far longer than I had lived in it, I still refer to myself as a Minnesotan when asked from whence I came.

Had you asked me ten years ago what I believed the cause of the Civil War to be, I would have answered slavery faster than you could say John Brown.  In fact, I would only have known John Brown as an epithet uttered by Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans.  Perhaps it had something to do with race.

Yes, I was Civil War ignorant.  Many would suggest I still am.

While far from a scholar, the last half-dozen years have opened my eyes to that enormous five-year scar on American history.  I can't even say that I'm widely read on the topic.  What I have seen and heard has dismantled my stereotypes.

America once again stands divided.  Many issues have us tearing at the fabric of our national foundations as we tear at one another.  No longer Blue and Gray, we are now Red and Blue (no association intended between the two pairings).  While the Blue/Gray ideological line divided us geographically North and South, no such geographical boundary divides Red and Blue (though some may argue that the coasts drift one direction and the heartland (aka "fly-over states") drift another).  At such a time as this and on the 150th anniversary, the sesquicentennial, of the Civil War, we would do well to familiarize ourselves with what Southerners refer to as the War of Northern Aggression.

Two good friends helped me to that end.  They introduced me to Jeff Shaara and his father Michael.  What his dad started with The Killer Angels, Jeff precluded with God's and Generals and concluded with The Last Full Measure.  They are historical novels.  From Killer Angels came the acclaimed film Gettysburg and from God's and Generals came the eponymous film, also widely acclaimed.  While the Shaara's write the stories in a novel format, the events are historically accurate.  The immense research for each book has given them insight into the individuals to thereby flesh them out for us in conversation and in action.  The books are riveting.

The second thing that has helped me to clear a bit of my ignorance and arrogance was Ken Burns' video documentary titled of all things The Civil War.  Burns did masterful work in research and story-telling.  The interviews with historians, especially the late Shelby Foote, are gripping.  I often wondered as I watched why I had never before seen the multitude of photographs that Burns brought to the screen.  Breathtaking.

So during this sesquicentennial, take some time to get to know the Civil War.  I recommend the Burns' documentary and the Shaara trilogy (and the Hollywood movies though long are well worth your time, too, whether you are North or South, Red or Blue).