A Southern Celebration of the Old Days (Slavery)

     Yesterday marked the 150th anniversary of Jefferson Davis being sworn in as the Confederate President.  Certainly a regretful time for the whole country, the only war America lost more lives in was World War 2.  Germany, of coarse being one of the losing countries from that war, had Adolf Hitler as Chancellor (Dictator).  Hitler and his supporters all believed in a certain way of life.  The Aryan Race was the superior race and all others were subhuman.  The subhumans were forced to work as slaves to support Germany.  Southern American states in the 1600's-1800's had a very similar system.  They had their own superiority system, kidnapping their subhumans from Africa and selling them into slavery to support their economies.  This was the southern way of life back then, just as Germany had their own way of life 75 years ago.  Do you know what Germany doesn't do in 2011?  Germany doesn't celebrate Hitler's inauguration date.  Modern Germany is shamed by that portion of their history.  
     But what about the former Confederate States here in America?  Certainly they are also shamed by their supporting of slavery.  Of course they aren't.  They are throwing celebrations this weekend in memory of Jefferson Davis's inauguration.  They are celebrating their "good old days", when they rose up against the oppressive Union and said you can't tell us how to live our lives.  Where is the disconnect here?  How is it OK to not just reminisce, but literally throw celebrations honoring the kidnapping, selling, and forced labor of thousands of human beings.  How can you be proud of this history?  In modern Germany, it is illegal to wear a swastika and punishable by jail time.  I can't walk outside my house (in Pennsylvania) without seeing someone driving a pickup truck with a confederate flag proudly hung in the window.  Clearly these friendly southern folks are too thick headed to change, so I am having my own celebration today.
     Today I will be celebrating a moment in history that holds a special place in my heart.  Many of you will know it by the title "Sherman's March".  This fine gentlemen, Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, took it upon himself to crush the southern way of life into submission during the Civil War.  He employed a "scorched earth" policy, meaning that not only would he invade and conquer the southern slave owners, but he would burn their homes to the ground, steal their food, and do anything in his power to ensure this way of life would be ruined forever.  Scars from Sherman's March can still be seen today in the good old south, a brutal campaign that put slaveholders in their place.  Here is a quote from Garrison Frazier, a black Baptist Minister summing up how African Americans in the south felt about General Sherman.  
     "We looked upon General Sherman, prior to his arrival, as a man, in the providence of God, specially set apart to accomplish this work, and we unanimously felt inexpressible gratitude to him, looking upon him as a man that should be honored for the faithful performance of his duty. Some of us called upon him immediately upon his arrival, and it is probable he did not meet [Secretary Stanton] with more courtesy than he met us. His conduct and deportment toward us characterized him as a friend and a gentleman"
     So this toast is to you Mr. Sherman, a counter to the misguided and disgraceful southerners of this country. You are a true American hero sir.