Defending Lee-Jackson Day from Me and My Followers

I haven’t linked to my Old Virginia Blog buddy in quite some time, but in recent weeks my site has received a great deal of attention from his little corner of the Shenandoah Valley. With that in mind I thought I would quickly return the favor by pointing out that Richard William completely missed the mark in reference to my recent post on Lee-Jackson Day:

Kevin Levin, who has expressed the view he saw no reason to celebrate Lee-Jackson Day, posed the question noted above. Kevin and many of his followers would like to see the tradition of honoring Lee and Jackson in Virginia (and other places in the South) thrown on the trash heap of history.

This is news to me. I don’t see how any reasonable reading of the post could warrant such a conclusion. While I don’t have much of anything invested in Lee-Jackson Day I have absolutely no problem if others wish to acknowledge it in some shape or form. I attended a couple of Lee-Jackson Day events in Charlottesville, Virginia during my time there and even over the years brought a couple of my classes to view the ceremony. Whether it ought to be acknowledged by the state is something that Virginians themselves must decide and for now I think the holiday is safe.

The point of the post was to suggest that the vast majority of Virginians, in fact, do not celebrate Lee-Jackson Day and I went on to speculate that within a generation or two it likely won’t be acknowledged at all. With each generation we seem to move further from the emotional hold that the Civil War once exerted on Americans. That is a purely descriptive claim that may or may not be true. I would love to hear Richard’s thoughts on this assuming he is able to dislodge himself from what he seems to need to believe about me.

BTW, I love the fact that there are people out there who believe that I have “followers.”

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12 comments… add one
  • Woodrowfan Jan 28, 2014 @ 14:06

    Kevin, no offense, but if we’re to be anyone “followers” than I’m going to go with Andy. He has all those cool ship postings.

    • Kevin Levin Jan 28, 2014 @ 14:07

      🙁

  • Neil Hamilton Jan 27, 2014 @ 23:07

    As I went into my den last night, I closed the door, sat at my desk, and then pressed the secret switch that raised the panel to my Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman shrine and the hidden internet connection to Civil War Memory HQ.

    I typed in the password phrase, “The Sun is shinning.” and awaited the counterphrase of “But the ice is slippery.” I pray that I have not missed any important messages and orders from ‘He Who Must Be Followed.’

    Really?

    Seriously,
    Neil

    • Ken Noe Jan 28, 2014 @ 14:26

      Old Abe flies at midnight. Repeat. Old Abe flies at midnight.

  • James Harrigan Jan 27, 2014 @ 13:59

    Speaking as a loyal follower of Kevin Levin, I think Richard William has a point – I certainly “..would like to see the tradition of honoring Lee and Jackson in Virginia (and other places in the South) thrown on the trash heap of history.” I don’t claim to speak for our Dear Leader or my fellow Levin minions, though.

  • James F. Epperson Jan 27, 2014 @ 8:13

    BTW, Kevin, I haven’t received any orders from you or Brooks in a long time.

    😉

  • Al Mackey Jan 26, 2014 @ 17:28

    I learned just the other day, to my great surprise, that I appear to have a “peanut gallery,” according to our friend in Pensacola. Who knew? What Richard’s post appears to be to me is more of the victimhood syndrome we’ve seen with the confederate heritage crowd. They need to be victims, and if nobody is attacking them, they need to make up an attack in order for them to be victims.

    • Kevin Levin Jan 26, 2014 @ 17:32

      That’s exactly right. It’s easier to avoid the issue that way. The waning interest in Confederate heritage has nothing to do with a supposed increase in attacks. White southerners are less interested in commemorating these holidays. End of story.

    • James F. Epperson Jan 27, 2014 @ 6:21

      Precisely, Al.

  • Rob Baker Jan 26, 2014 @ 16:41

    Oh great lord of the civil war blog. We eagerly await your orders to move….

  • Tom Heaney Jan 26, 2014 @ 15:54

    Well, I suppose you have “followers” in the sense that there are people like me who “follow” your blog. But I’m not going to ditch a shoe or get into an argument about whether we should all discard our shoes or run around collecting shoes into a bundle (or follow some bleedin’ gourd) because of the blog.

    • Kevin Levin Jan 26, 2014 @ 15:59

      I thought it meant that you agree with everything I write and follow orders. Love the Monty Python reference. 🙂

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