Jerry Patterson sez:Even though I am not proud of slavery, I can continue to honor symbols of the Confederacy as I honor the American flag. I am as proud an American as they come. I am, however, not proud of what my country did to the American Indian. I have pride in my service as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, but I am embarrassed at the atrocities that occurred at My Lai. I still wear a small Vietnam service pin on my lapel, knowing that not everything done in Vietnam is worthy of pride. However, I know that most who served there were good men and women who truly wanted to do the right thing.
If the Confederate flag represented slavery, then the U.S. flag must represent slavery even more so. Slavery existed for four years under the Stars and Bars and for almost 100 years under the Stars and Stripes. If the few hundred members of racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan want to adopt the Confederate flag as their symbol, over the objection of million of Southerners, should we allow them to corrupt it in this way? Since the KKK has adopted the cross for use in its burnings, should churches across the country remove this symbol of Christianity from all places of worship? Should we not begin to tear down monuments to the Buffalo Soldiers (Black U.S. cavalry troopers of the late 1800s), since those soldiers were an integral part of a war that subjugated and enslaved a whole race of people, the American Plains Indians?
Elsewhere:
Gary Bledsoe, state president of the NAACP, called Patterson's advocacy "divisive."
"If Lee had won the war, I wouldn't be making this statement right now, and that fact is unmistakably clear," Bledsoe said.
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Patterson cited a letter in which Lee called slavery evil. Patterson said schoolbook history has tended to ignore that side of Lee and oversimplify Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.
Jerry Patterson: "I hold that this day should be a source of pride for all Texans because I believe this day honors men of high principle: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gen. Robert E. Lee. Men who, in their time, served as leaders of the causes to which they dedicated their lives, but moreover continue to serve as great moral and ethical leaders.
"Texas and our nation have been greatly influenced by these men, and they should be considered role models for anyone seeking integrity, dedication and selflessness."
From leading the first large-scale nonviolent black protest with the boycott of 1955, to his leadership of the 1960s civil rights movement, Dr. King is synonymous worldwide with compassion, nonviolence and equality.
His Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and his "I Have A Dream" speech in 1963 firmly establish his role as one of the greatest Americans of the 20th Century.
Jan. 19 is also the birthday of Robert E. Lee, recognized as a state holiday by the Texas Legislature since 1931, but no longer widely observed. In 1973, the day officially became known as Confederate Heroes Day, a day to recognize not just Robert E. Lee, but all the Texans who died in service to their state while a part of the Confederacy.
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Patterson concludes: "So if someone says a holiday honoring the birthdays of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert E. Lee is inconsistent, patiently explain to them the tie that binds these two men across boundaries of race and time. They were both men of principle."
This is the guy our "uniter not a divider" pResident chose as his emissary to meet Max Cleland??
Jerry Patterson: "I am embarrassed at the atrocities that occurred at My Lai. ...not everything done in Vietnam is worthy of pride."
What do the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have to say about these types of scurrilous attacks on all the soldiers who valiantly fought and died for their country in Vietnam?
John O'Neill: "We resent very deeply the false war crimes charges... We think those cast an aspersion on all those living and dead..."
Roy Hoffman: "...betrayal of all United States forces in the Vietnam War. That included our soldiers, our marines, our sailors, our coast guardsmen, our airmen, and our POWs. His...charging us with unspeakable atrocities remain an undocumented but nevertheless meticulous stain on the men and women who honorably stayed the course."