What Did Your Kids Do This Summer?

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14 comments… add one
  • Bob Sep 6, 2010 @ 12:55

    Camp in theory could be a good thing, teaching history etc…but it seems over the top. Plus, they are letting kids fire a cannon!!?? WTH? and in shorts!!!?? oy vey!

  • Margaret D. Blough Sep 3, 2010 @ 3:06

    It is bizarre hearing a man who got married at the former Aryan Nations compound accuse public schools of prejudice.

  • MississippiLawyer Sep 2, 2010 @ 6:11

    13 of my 16 great-great-great grandfathers served in the Confederate Army and their numerous siblings and cousins, etc. Two of my ggg grandfathers perished in the war (thank god they had kids before they died or else I wouldn’t be here!). One at Murfreesboro with the 7th Miss Inf and another at The Wilderness with the 21st Miss Inf. I probably have more Confederate blood going through my veins than 99% of Americans, and it aches my heart to see impressionable children force fed such terrible misrepresentations. I have no real way of knowing of course, but I think my ancestors would be embarrassed at this sort of thing.

    Certainly there is no way to prove this, but I’d be willing to bet that alot of these SCV nuts have ten times more adoration and affection to the Confederacy than most of the actual soldiers did.

    • Andy Hall Sep 2, 2010 @ 7:19

      Amen.

      I’d only add, though, that I’m increasingly convinced that among the hard-core Southern Heritage™ types, it’s not really about the Civil War at all — they’re torqued about a whole range of present-day, hot-button political and social issues, and arguments over the Civil War and how it’s interpreted/remembered/commemorated are really only a convenient proxy to vent their frustrations. (Example: the odious Kirk Lyons, featured in this segment, had a big push this past spring for his adherents to identify themselves as “Southern Confederate Americans” on their census forms.) I promise you, ask any of these camp leaders a question ostensibly about the war, and within two minutes you’ll be enmeshed in a stream-of-consciousness rant about Obamacare and anchor babies.

      • Kevin Levin Sep 2, 2010 @ 7:22

        You are absolutely right.

        • Corey Meyer Sep 2, 2010 @ 8:22

          I wonder what the % of kids there are homeschooled? Sorry if this bring your buddy Richard Williams into this discussion.

          • Andy Hall Sep 2, 2010 @ 8:46

            Dunno, but parents who home-school are absolutely the intended audience. From the advertisement:There is no question that the youth of today must run a terrible gauntlet, and that many are struck down along the way by one or more of the politically correct influences which flourish in our schools. Sometimes these youths are from the best homes, with strong families and religious training. With even the most conscientious parenting though, oftentimes in high school or college, even these best & brightest finally succumb to the liberal, politically correct view of history. It’s really a beautifully-crafted bit of persuasion, including the suggestion that the reader’s kids are among “the best & brightest,” and that attending this camps will help them avoid being :”struck down,” etc. From a purely advertising perspective, it’s hard to go wrong appealing to those emotions.

            • Andy Hall Sep 2, 2010 @ 8:57

              Meant to have a big block quote in the middle of that.

        • Raffi Sep 2, 2010 @ 15:07

          To jokingly reference the discussion from yesterday, isn’t this only their attempt at a ““usable past” 🙂 ???

          • Kevin Levin Sep 2, 2010 @ 15:23

            After working for the NPS I suspect that you are an ideal candidate for re-programming. 😀

      • Dick Stanley Sep 2, 2010 @ 8:47

        Well, of course they’d be upset about Obamacare, etc. They’re conservatives, by definition. Albeit a rather unusual brand. Sort of like the doctrinaire Marxists among the garden-variety socialists.

        I’m still a national SCV member, but left the local camp back in the 80s, along with many others. The membership was then in free-fall and, as far as I can tell, hasn’t risen appreciably since—whatever their new skills with video and blogging. Then it seemed to be because they focused more on contemporary politics than the history of the war. Men with pot bellies playing dress up in ersatz uniforms wasn’t attractive, either.

        The camp does seem silly, but not to worry. All kids, whatever their parents (or teachers) preach, are quite good at separating truth from the b.s. OTOH, that cannon, whoa. Throw in some black-powder muskets (instead of the archery) and they could enroll a lot more boys.

  • Marianne Davis Sep 2, 2010 @ 6:05

    Two quick thoughts — 1. It is such an interesting evening ceremony, for the children of people who no doubt claim to be ultra-loyal Americans. What do you think they might say if a Mostly Mozart music camp solemnly lowered the Austrian flag? Divided loyalty is such a sticky issue, no?
    2. Dressing up in antebellum costumes, just like their illustrious forefathers? Where do you think that got enough homespun for everyone? Surely their Truth about Southern heritage doesn’t include everyone being rich. . .

  • Brian W. Schoeneman Sep 2, 2010 @ 4:25

    Mine was born. Kind of boring. No cannons, although it was the day before the 4th of July so we did get fireworks.

  • Eric Jacobson Sep 2, 2010 @ 4:01

    I think I’d rather NOT have to subject my children to Kirk Lyons and his supporters. Frankly, I could only hope that Sam Davis himself would be ashamed.

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