Deo Vindice


Deo Vindice

http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/67/

I don’t think that many folks have stopped to read the text inscribed on the base. TL;DR was thing long before the Internets.

But it’s clear that this memorial was meant to send a message. An unrepentant message about the God given rightness of the Lost Cause. A message that, unfortunately, still has its adherents, even today.

It's pretty well known that the winners write history, that the oppressed don't have the time and money to devote to grandiose memorials, and that beautifying the horrors of war is a recruitment tool.

The existence of this monument, and its context of time and place, are a rather damning indictment of who won, and who lost, our Civil War.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves, but it didn’t elevate them, in the South, or in the North. Compromises were made, to keep the peace. To preserve the status quo. The hard details would be worked out later.

Those details, obvious to anyone paying attention, are yet to be worked out, even today. And not just for the descendants of slaves.

In the meantime, our country has gone through two Great Wars, and countless smaller ones. As with any history, it’s easy to see, after the fact, the thin white veneer of valor and heroism plastered over the brown, bloody scratch coat of power and opportunism.

In the meantime, the sculpture prevails. It’s beautiful, even if it’s messaging is wrong.

What should we do with all the beautiful things that are wrong in some way?

Clyde, the artist formerly known as Clyde Overcash, of Salisbury, NC, had this to say, among other things:

“If the protestors today can look into the face of an angel and see racism or slavery, then we have all failed. It is not Hitler, Stalin or oppression but one of God’s messengers – coming to lift you from your misfortunes, woes, trials, day-to-day worries as we come and go. Some don’t see and others refuse to look. What a fitting site for it in our midst. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Then, hate is in the heart of the protestor.”

“We need to read about our history, talk and listen about slavery like articles in the Post and please God send rain to end this hot spell and calm down the heated discussions around town. Help us to see the difference between the words “insight” and “incite.””

http://m.salisburypost.com/2015/07/25/clyde-a-few-more-words-about-the-confederate-monument/

I’m not sure Clyde is right. But I’m not sure he’s entirely wrong, either.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Entremet

Entremet Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh "“Like most people in the US, I grew up knowing the words to this carol and even (shudder) singing them occasionally (singing is not a strong point of mine), but never really thought about what they meant, how the carol originated, or what birds were involved”, says Dr Rasmussen in email. So she decided to figure it out. Dr Rasmussen, who’s tied for third for the most bird discoveries in the world, is probably also the world’s foremost avian sleuth, due to her meticulous detective work a few years ago that uncovered the many ornithological thefts and records frauds in museums that were committed by eminent British ornithologist, Richard Meinertzhagen. But who would ever have thought that an old Christmas carol might also hold an avian mystery? “After all, it’s just a Christmas carol!” Dr Rasmussen points out." https://medium.com/@GrrlScientist/meet-the-real-birds-of-the-twelve-days-of-christmas-fame-grrlscientist-5a8bc09350c9
Read more

Flushbunkingly Gloriumptious

Flushbunkingly Gloriumptious Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh "Renowned children's author and occasional spy, Roald Dahl spent the last years of his life in a home located in the small English village of Great Missenden, and now his beloved village is home to an attractive museum devoted to his life and works.  [...] Today the museum holds all of Dahl's original manuscripts, as well as his "Idea Books" where he would jot down his nascent creations. In addition to celebrating his writing career, there are also displays covering his service in the RAF. However, the crown jewel of the museum is the recreation of Dahl's purpose built "Writing Hut," complete with the arm chair he had customized to write in." http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-roald-dahl-museum
Read more

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh So Labradors tend to overeat. Now it has been traced to genetic differences. "Dr Eleanor Raffan, a veterinary surgeon and geneticist who studies how genes influence metabolism at the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge recently published a study that examines the genetics that underlie food motivation and obesity in Labrador retrievers. [...] When Dr Raffan and her team carefully examined this POMC gene variant, they found that a small 14-basepair section a little more than halfway down the gene’s length was missing. This deletion creates a frameshift mutation that results in the production of an abnormal protein where the last half is scrambled into a blob of nonsense [...]. Normally, the POMC is translated into the POMC pro-peptide, which is cleaved at precise sites to give rise to number of smaller peptides, including the appetite suppressing neuropeptides, ß-MSH & ß-endorphin, but the abnormal POMC pro-peptide do...
Read more