Arlington Confederate Monument

Paul Harvey

Think the religion of the Confederacy has died? Think again.

Dear President Obama: Please Don't Honor the Arlington Confederate Monument.

Over at Civil War Memory, Kevin Levin disagrees, hoping instead that Obama will put his skills at dialogue with those he disagrees with to good use here, as he did recently at Notre Dame. Caitlin Hopkins makes another worthy suggestion:

I would be perfectly happy to see Obama's staff "forget" to order the wreath for this particular bit of Lost Cause nostalgia, but that's not really his style. It seems much more likely that President Obama could be persuaded to add an extra stop on that Memorial Day wreath-laying tour — I suggest a trip to the African American Civil War Memorial before the Arlington excursion.

The future of the Republic probably doesn't stand or fall on whether some low-level administration staffer does or does not participate in this anachronistic, historically ill-informed little ceremony. My take: it's time to let this outdated tribute to Confederate mythology and religion die, let the Lost Causers rage though they will.