From: jeromema@cc.uvcc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.war.civil.usa
Subject: Re: Jones Murphy and the charter of this group
Date: 28 Aug 92 12:46:44 -0700
Organization: Utah Valley Community College

In article <1992Aug26.200109.11032@odin.corp.sgi.com>, zursch@whizkid.wpd.sgi.com (Jeff Zurschmeide) writes:
 
> 
> I think Jones raises many good points about the nature of the Civil War
> and the nature of our nation's history. I don't see why it gets 
> people so hot under the collar. 
> 
> You don't have to agree with every point he makes or every word he says
> to see the truths he is trying to get at.  Read his words to understand
> the truth as he sees it. His point of view is shared by millions of people
> in this country, and deserves serious consideration. 
>  
> I think Jones has made excellent points and has served as a conscience
> for this group. A voice that will not let us forget or "back-burner" 
> the millions of slaves and free blacks who were involved in the Civil
> War and the events that led up to it. Those people need a voice in any
> discussion of this war, and Jones is our voice. 
> JZ

Good for you Jeff.  I agree with you completely.

I would like to see the discussion continue.  Whether soldiers went to war to
free the slaves or not, the fact remains that it was THE underlying issue that
had to be dealt with in one form or another, and still does.  That last part
may sound strange, because after all there is no more slavery in America.  So
you think.  I say, since 1865, we have only learned to be more sophistiated in
our methods of "enslaving" the various minorities within our country.  We, as a
nation, make a pretense at living the letter of the law, but resist living the
spirit of the law.

My background has seen things that will forever haunt me.  My father has seen
the results of Southern Whites who had "fun" with some poor African-American
who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and never lived to see
home again.  We lived through four years of taunts and ridicule for just being
"Yankees" living in the deep South.  My father got most of the verbal abuse be-
cause he is a man that treats each fellow human as his equal.  I was a little
boy at the time and escaped much of it.  But I'll never forget the night someone
burned a cross in our front yard as a warning to us that we needed to conform
to their "white" philosphy.

I'm proud to know that my father has a letter from the late Martin Luther King,
thanking my Dad for his efforts in promoting brotherhood, not only between the
different races, but the different religions and ethnic groups.

If the truth hurts, then all I can say is that I feel sorry for you, and hope
that you can learn to accept truth and rise above your hurt feelings and
benefit from the experience and knowledge.  We are all equally descended from
kings and naves, good and bad.  We need not judge the people of the past, only
understand what they did and why, and determine what effects their behavior,
right or wrong, has on the people of the day and age.  As far as I am concerned
the Civil War can still be lost, the Union soldiers may yet have died in vain. 

Mr. Murphy, I am on your side.  Let us truly learn what it is to be an American.
To be able to rejoice in and learn from our varied backgrounds.  To have the
courage to once and for all end the wrongs that have for too long been allowed
to exist.  We are a part of all the people of the world, whether you talk
about race, creed, religion, country of origin or whatever.  After all, that is
what makes us strong and different.  We are the last best hope of man, if we
don't commit suicide first as a result of our own apathy towards each other and
our dimishing dedication to the ideals of the constitution and Rights of Man.

The answer is truly "Blowin' in the Wind."  Do we have the strength to grab
hold of it? 

As summer winds down and cooler temperatures prevail, I know these old bones of
mine are going to ache, and the muscles stiffen.  Anybody got a "flame" handy
I can warm myself with and keep the blood flowing?

Marc D. Jerome