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A Confederate Soldier in Iraq Email Print

By Aethern
11/30/2005 01:47:08 PM EST

The civil war is a complicated subject. Modern day apologists crow about States' Rights, but the particular right that they were crowing about was the right to own another human as a slave. Which, as I wrote about earlier, was a right that they never really had in the first place. The framers decided that they had to make a choice between making a stand on slavery or getting the constitution ratified, and they chose the latter. Some might take exception to that characterization of things, but I stand by it, and will attempt to post a more detailed exploration of that particular aspect of the constitution's history at another time - particularly in light of the fact that many of the framers owned slaves themselves - but for now, I wish to talk about that forgotten and often despised hero of the War Between the States - the confederate soldier.

Just as our men and women are over there in Iraq based on manipulations and lies, so were these soldiers fighting their bretheren from the North. Consider this quote from Robert E. Lee, the head general of the Confederate Army:

There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.

Very few of the men in the Confederate Army owned slaves, or, I would imagine, particularly cared about the institution. That is not to say that there weren't many, many racists among them - in those days it was, unfortunately, normative. It could be indirectly compared to some of our boys over there in Iraq who see every Muslim as an enemy. But to say that these legion of young men were so eager to fight and die so rich people could have their slaves shows an incomplete understanding.

These men had become convinced that their homes were under attack. They had become convinced that their honorable and sacred duty called them to defend their land. They were tragically deceived and lied to by those in power who cared nothing about the men doing the dying. Same shit, different century.

I am not attempting to glorify the Confederate 'cause' in this. It is a shameful mark on the history of this nation, especially to those of us whose ancestors participated in it. It was a war based on lies, perpetrated by those in power, fought by young men who had been manipulated into battle.

But just as the criminal deception of the Bush Administration doesn't take away from the honor that we should rightly bestow upon those who serve, the evil lies of the slave-owning power class of the mid-nineteenth century should not remove the honor we bestow upon those young men who laid down their lives for what they believed was the right thing.

They were heroes who had been hijacked for an evil purpose. A tragedy that we are seeing repeated even to this day.

So, the next time you are in Richmond, VA, and you see one of the ubiquitous civil war monuments dotting the city, perhaps you will understand why we still celebrate the warriors, even as we decry the reasons behind the war.

People must understand that as long as the people allow those in power to use war as a political tool - a means to exert power - then we will continue to throw our bravest upon the fires of combat.


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A Confederate Soldier in Iraq | 10 comments (10 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Same shit, different millienium as well (5.00 / 2)
I think if you get a broad enough view of history, this is nearly always the case -- the poor fighting on behalf of the rich on trumped-up crap meant to throw sand in the eyes.

At least previous to the modern era, people simply were forced to give military service without all the accompanying propaganda shit going on, which while brutal, at least had the form of honesty.

And you're right ... there's a particular poignancy in the Confederate soldier, usually poor, who went to war for rich men's causes while the rich men stayed safe and got rich.

by SusanG on 11/30/2005 01:54:10 PM EST

Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials (4.66 / 3)
This fits right in on the how to side!

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

by NG on 11/30/2005 03:32:08 PM EST

Democracies can be dangerous (none / 0)
While you all know I'm a big believer in the people's inalieable right to self-governance, it should also be said that if the people aren't given the proper tools (education, truth, etc.), then fear, anger, and hatred can reach a critical mass leading to a sort of mob mentality. I think that's a big part of what happened in 2002. That's why we have a representative republic, instead of direct democracy. Unfortunately, when those representatives themselves got elected through appeals to ignorance and hatred (looking at Tom Coburn, Demitt, and so forth), then they become part of the problem.

If that makes any sense.

If you don't understand someone, consider that the shortcoming may not lie with that person, but rather with your own understanding.

by Aethern on 12/01/2005 08:07:11 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Bring both groups home ... (none / 0)
the troops and the lying representatives.

How do you stop a herd of rabid elephants from destroying your village?

Vote them out of office!

Violence is the last resort of the incompetent. -- Mayor Salvor Hardin, in "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

by DaneelO on 12/11/2005 12:04:21 PM EST

[ Parent ]
All it takes for evil to prevail (4.50 / 2)
is for good people to do nothing. Or something like that.

No one is completely innocent unless outrightly duped. I think this might be one of those times. Nevertheless, there seems to be rampant willingness to take the leadership at its word. This lack of scrutiny is perhaps the true bone of contention. Willful ignorance is also unforgivable when thousands of lives have been lost.

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 11/30/2005 04:38:04 PM EST

Absolutely (none / 0)
I want to quote Dr William Frey's incredibly excellent essay, Confessions of a Repentant War Supporter

   *   It is much easier on our moral sensibilities to believe we invaded for the noble cause of disarming an outlaw than to face the shameful truth that the rationale we used for our first ever preemptive war was based on false information [.pdf].
    * When evidence for weapons is lacking, it is much more gratifying to believe we are on a mission to democratize grateful oppressed peoples than to grapple with the unpleasant understanding that they regard us as unwelcome occupiers.
    * It is less depressing to imagine we are stabilizing a volatile region than to recognize that we are fueling the insurgency and hardening hatred.
    * It is less disconcerting to delude ourselves with the belief that our leaders are on a mission to liberate all humanity than to comprehend that, in a climate of fear, the legal infrastructure protecting our own liberties is being systematically and permanently dismantled.
    * It is more reassuring to believe in the truthfulness of our president than to grasp the fact that while he continues to claim no intent for permanent occupation, permanent-base construction continues unabated.
    * It is more tempting to seek solace in the "With Us or Against Us" simplicity of George W. Bush, disregarding inconvenient facts and unintended consequences, than to heed the wise and more nuanced counsel of Generals George Casey, John Abizaid, Anthony Zinni, Joseph Hoar, William Odom, Wesley Clark, Tony McPeak, or Dwight Eisenhower.
    * It is far more comforting to believe that the Iraq war has been sanctioned by God than to recognize that fallible human leaders have dishonestly abused the rhetoric [.pdf] of patriotism and faith to advance policies that dishonor our values.
    * It is more consoling to entertain the myth that our soldiers will be there "as long as they need to be, and not one day longer," than to awaken to the terrible truth that those who peddled this war to Americans as a focused military action, necessary for disarming a tyrant, have no intention of ever departing from Iraq, regardless of Iraqi wishes, and contrary to administration rhetoric about Iraqi democracy, independence, and sovereignty.

I think alot of the people who still support what is happening in Iraq are practicing vigorous self-deception to hold on to their comfortable beliefs. Unfortunately, that self-deception provides those in power just enough support to maintain their foolish course, and thus more blood will be shed. How long before people wake up?

If you don't understand someone, consider that the shortcoming may not lie with that person, but rather with your own understanding.

by Aethern on 11/30/2005 05:44:10 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Agreement and disagreement (none / 0)
While I'm certainly in agreement that populations are easily manipulated by governments that have much more power and information, and that throughout time there have been soldiers who marched off to protect home and heart without knowing that they were marching to a tune played by monsters -- I'm a little less than enthusiastic about trying to dust off the Confederate soldier.

Even though I'm a southerner myself.  Even though I lived in one of those little towns that gotten taken and retaken (17 times, actually) during the war.  Even though I was given the diary of Sam Watkins when I was 12 and had my slouch hat and "stars and bars" pinned up in my bedroom.  Even though I could have thrown a stone out my front door and hit a marker proclaiming that spot as a camp for General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Even though I've written two books set during the Civil War and will write a third if some publisher gives me a chance, I don't think these men are blameless.

I don't think the men who joined the "Cherokee Lincoln Killers" had any great illusions about what they were up to.  I don't think the men who signed on with slave trader Forrest to "kill yankees" did so out of either altruistic impulse or mistaken belief about the cause of state's rights.  I don't think the men who William Quantrill led into Lawrence, Kansas were just poor guys who were out to protect their homes.  In short, I think there were a lot of scoundrels, hot heads, and downright evil people who took arms for the southern side.  A lot of these people were out to loot and kill.  Period.

Not all of them, of course.  There were many deeply conflicted men -- from Lee on down to common soldiers like Watkins.  However, it was the confederate vice president who wrote "our nation is founded on the knowledge that the black man is not equal to the white man."  It's pretty darn hard to think that any of these men, in their heart, didn't know they were fighting for something other than self determination.

by Devilstower on 12/01/2005 10:01:22 AM EST

Point well taken (none / 0)
I think that ultimately war gives rise to the lowest human nature among those who participate. If you wanted to look on the Union side, it would not take long to find scoundrels and barbarism - Sherman's march, for instance. And also, it wasn't as if the North was a bastion of enlightened racial equality by any means. That being said, I think you make a good point. Given the ultimate source of the Confederate 'cause' (the continuation of slavery), there is a certain dirt that will never come off the confederate hands, no matter how the history is viewed.

I really didn't intend for this article to come across as another attempt to resurrect that old 'Glorious Cause' meme. I was trying to get at the tragedy of people being lied to (or lying to themselves!) about why they fight and die, and to compare the occurence of that phenomenon among the confederates with the occurence today in Iraq.

If you don't understand someone, consider that the shortcoming may not lie with that person, but rather with your own understanding.

by Aethern on 12/01/2005 07:11:51 PM EST

[ Parent ]
And despite everything (none / 0)
Despite all I said, I still find myself prone to that weird romantic notion that Faulkner described, that moment every southern boy can reach when Pickett has not yet marched, Alabama troops are still preparing the assualt on Little Round Top, and the cause is not yet lost.

There's an undeniable appeal in the lost cause-- not because of the nature of the cause, but simply because it was lost (and even though Faulkner said it and he was, you know, Faulkner, I think every American north and south has a peculiar affection for the underdog).

I can make absolutely no logical or moral defense of this feeling, but in my mind's eye the picture of those lines of wounded leaving Pennsylvania, and the proud men worn down and soaking in the cold rain... well, I think you'd have to be a stone if it didn't touch something in you.

by Devilstower on 12/01/2005 11:21:22 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Ironically ... (none / 0)
I think part of the reason I am a progressive is my love for the lost cause, that feeling you evoke of the losing, weary soldiers retreating in the rain.

There's definitely a strong mythical appeal deep in the human race to admire those who plod on, with defeat pretty much guaranteed, yet believing in their cause nonetheless.

by SusanG on 12/02/2005 10:03:00 AM EST

[ Parent ]
A Confederate Soldier in Iraq | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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