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I long ago decided memorializing people was stupid, albeit mostly because I have no chance of being the one memorialized. However, I'm certain I can come up with a more reflective if less honest justification. Who pays for those presidential libraries anyhow?

They are built with private funds and maintained with federal funds, at least in part.

When I was at SMU last fall somebody said there was a $10 admission charge to visit the Bush Library. I wasn't going anyway.

stevelee wrote:somebody said there was a $10 admission charge to visit the Bush Library

No graveline, no.

It's impossible to imagine any effort to change the name of the Vietnam Memorial. It honors all, disparages none -- even our former enemy. The "Confederate" in the Vandy building name is vastly different because it honors an effort that, among other things, defended the enslavement of black Americans. I'm a white Southerner. I get the inclination to memorialize the Rebel cause. I also know I would feel dramatically different if I were black myself and, especially, if I were a black student, black faculty member or black employee at Vandy.

Airball50 wrote:I also know I would feel dramatically different if I were black myself and, especially, if I were a black student, black faculty member or black employee at Vandy.

More today instead of five years ago? If so, why? TV news? Social media? The knowledge about slavery didn't just surface. A sudden urge to be offended for someone?

No, no more now than 5 years ago, or 10, 20 or 30........ No sudden urge to be offended for someone. Offended people often do a good job of expressing their feelings. And I see nothing wrong with acknowledging that they are offended, supporting conversations about why, and seeking understanding. I know that makes some people uncomfortable.

Substitute "Nazi" for "Confederate" and tell me if you would feel the same?

The dreaded "Nazi" word. Is the KKK next? Jim Crow? Eugenics?

If we hurry we can use our stupid thread to solve these issues today ... once and for all!

While I have mostly German ancestors, they were here long before the Nazi era, so I can't claim to relate in quite the same way. I did have a class taught by a veteran of both the Nazi and US armies. I see him at Wendy's and women's games. I also buried a parishioner who knew Goering at Nurenburg. So I can't come up with anything closer than three degrees from Hitler.

I have read that there are French villages where they honor the Germans soldiers buried there.

Airbal50 wrote:Substitute "Nazi" for "Confederate" and tell me if you would feel the same?

MakeIt-TakeIt Cat wrote:The dreaded "Nazi" word. Is the KKK next? Jim Crow? Eugenics?

If we hurry we can use our stupid thread to solve these issues today ... once and for all!

And there it is! Godwin's Law again proves true!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

mccabemi wrote:I long ago decided memorializing people was stupid, albeit mostly because I have no chance of being the one memorialized. However, I'm certain I can come up with a more reflective if less honest justification. Who pays for those presidential libraries anyhow?

I've often felt that all "memorials" should have a term limit associated with them. First, it would free up opportunities to honor the memory of contemporaries that folks want to memorialize. Second, it would avoid the problem of folks judging historical figures out of the context of their time. To the extent some feel that such "judging" is a good idea, beware your own legacy in a century or two ...

AndroCat wrote:

Airbal50 wrote:Substitute "Nazi" for "Confederate" and tell me if you would feel the same?

MakeIt-TakeIt Cat wrote:The dreaded "Nazi" word. Is the KKK next? Jim Crow? Eugenics?

If we hurry we can use our stupid thread to solve these issues today ... once and for all!

And there it is! Godwin's Law again proves true!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

Oh, Geez, here we go again. We gotta give this a rest. What will be next? Removing Thomas Jefferson from the currency and renaming the Jefferson Memorial because he was a slaveholder?

I have ancestors on both parents' family trees who were slaveholders. I am not proud of this and don't go around trumpeting it, but neither can I deny historical facts. I get it about the South Carolina flag and "Confederate Hall" at Vandy, but we can't paint over the entire historical legacy of our nation. There's no end to it. Otherwise, we would have to start in on the truly shameful treaty-breaking and near-eradication of the native Americans and their culture. If we're not careful, folks will start agitating for the Washington Redskins to change the name of their mascot.

Hue and cry over "Nazi." Crickets about "Confederate." Disturbing.

Big difference between denying historical fact and celebrating historical facts that should not be celebrated.

I can recall when a politician was given a lot of grief because his pastor had used strong words in speaking against slavery. That's still mentioned from time to time, but it takes away from the narrative that he is of a different religion.

I somehow see a false equivalency between the Nazi regime and the Confederacy, and I can make a distinction between honoring those who died for their country and celebrating slavery, etc.

What idiot brought all this up, anyhow?