Now, not only do we not learn from history, we want to whitewash, sanitize, and otherwise eliminate it. ISIS, in its current march across the middle east, is destroying anything of historical or cultural significance that doesn't fit with its' insane world view.
The saddest reality of all? We are no better than them. Look at the attempts to remove the Dixie Flag from government property, the removal of historical role playing games from sites such as Amazon because of the "Dixie" flag, and the cancellation of the syndicated show "the Dukes of Hazzard," all because of the same display of said flag. Even the controversy itself shows extreme ignorance of history. It is referred to as the "Confederate Flag." This is simply not true. It was NEVER the flag of the Confederate States of America. Yes, as was pointed out to me, it was used in part of one version of the 'Confederate Flag,' but it was never itself the Confederate flag. Several state flags today also incorporate that image in their flags. Where is the outrage and the call to ban them? Hawaii has a British flag incorporated in it - why are we not outraged that our Revolutionary oppressors are memorialized there? Instead, we ban a TV show that never offered any sort of racist or racial remarks, and even now call for the removal of statues that honor any historical figure associated with the south. This is political correctness gone completely out of control, and demonstrates clearly and firmly that we are not only not learning from history at all, but that we are about to repeat it once again.
The simple reality is that the "rebel" or "Dixie" flag is, in fact, a symbol out of the era when several states formed a new union all over the battle of states' rights. Yes, the hot topic was slavery, but the war itself was fought over the right of states to govern themselves without excessive government interference. The flag itself was never, however, a symbol of slavery, racism, or any sort of anti-abolitionist movement. It came to stand for southern pride (i.e. the "Dixie" flag). And yet in the fervor to ban it, I have yet to hear anyone actually correctly identify the flag as what it actually was, NOT what people want it to be today. It was never the confederate flag.
Our history must be remembered. Especially, we must remember one of our darkest hours (the Civil War era) so that we never repeat it. I'm not advocating that the Dixie Flag be kept on state grounds, but this banishment has been taken way too far already. When one does even a cursory reading of why the Roman Empire collapsed, for example, one can see that America is already well on its way. Why? In part because it cannot remember or retain what made it great in the first place. Want to know what is expressed in the founding fathers' vision, throughout their own statements, and even seen in an outside observer in the 19th century? Here is what 19th century French observer Alexis De Tocqueville had to say: "Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it. Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon religious belief.... such are the opinions of the Americans; and if any hold that the religious spirit which I admire is the very thing most amiss in America... I can only reply that those who hold this language have never been in America and that they have never seen a religious or a free nation." (DeTocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835, this ed. 1994, pp 305-7)
In other words: It was religion that made America great. Specifically, it was the Christian principles on which this nation was founded. Anyone who would argue or belabor this point is also one who, simply put, does not know history. In fact, that may very well be at the cause of today's national crisis. Our Judeo-Christian roots and heritage are being whitewashed and otherwise destroyed, and as such, the nation is being slowly destroyed as it fades into oblivion and the annals of history. Why? because we fail to learn from our own moral past, and the corruption and immorality that pervades society is slowly eating us from within.
Remember the words of the Apostle Paul: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. ...You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:1, 13) Until the hearts and minds of America remembers its history and roots, and returns to them, the Republic is dead. Long live the Republic.
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