Tim Rowland: The main achievement of Klan rallies is to speed the demise of the Klan
John Howard, superintendent of Antietam National Battlefield, probably felt that he had little choice but to allow the Ku Klux Klan to soil what many consider to be sacred ground. But he's too sharp a guy not to understand and at some level appreciate the myriad of ironies.
In granting the Klan's request for a rally at Antietam, Howard did the right thing, and not just because the Constitution says he had little choice. Free speech is a federal foundation so nowhere can this be more undeniable than on federal property.
But it goes well beyond that. There are two reasons for maintaining a public battlefield. It's a commemoration to those who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of the rest of us. And it's also an instrument of teaching.
Out of battles come lessons, not just in military tactics, but in culture and society. Battles say to us, society made a mistake and this is the price of that mistake - so let's remember, so as not to repeat.
Although they are too angry and politically tone deaf to know it, Klan members have actually done us a tremendous favor by choosing Antietam as the site for their little shindig.
Some have made the point that the Klan's appearance on this ground sullies the memories of those who fought and died there.
The reality is quite the opposite. The Klan's appearance accentuates the importance of the struggle. Lincoln may not have gone into the Civil War with the idea of freeing the slaves, but the South sure went into the war with the idea of keeping them. This "states rights" issue that honorable southern sympathizers - understandably wishing to associate their cause with glory instead of shame - use as the cause of the war is essentially correct.
And one of the chief rights the South wished to protect was - you guessed it.
The Klan, of course, misreads history too far in the opposite direction. It has co-opted the southern flag and would have you believe the war was fought in the name of racial purity. Truth be told, it wouldn't surprise me if it's the southern partisans who take greater offense at the Klan's arrival than those of the North.
But what the Klan does is remind us that these battles are still being waged, in hearts instead of on hillsides. ...
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In granting the Klan's request for a rally at Antietam, Howard did the right thing, and not just because the Constitution says he had little choice. Free speech is a federal foundation so nowhere can this be more undeniable than on federal property.
But it goes well beyond that. There are two reasons for maintaining a public battlefield. It's a commemoration to those who sacrificed themselves for the benefit of the rest of us. And it's also an instrument of teaching.
Out of battles come lessons, not just in military tactics, but in culture and society. Battles say to us, society made a mistake and this is the price of that mistake - so let's remember, so as not to repeat.
Although they are too angry and politically tone deaf to know it, Klan members have actually done us a tremendous favor by choosing Antietam as the site for their little shindig.
Some have made the point that the Klan's appearance on this ground sullies the memories of those who fought and died there.
The reality is quite the opposite. The Klan's appearance accentuates the importance of the struggle. Lincoln may not have gone into the Civil War with the idea of freeing the slaves, but the South sure went into the war with the idea of keeping them. This "states rights" issue that honorable southern sympathizers - understandably wishing to associate their cause with glory instead of shame - use as the cause of the war is essentially correct.
And one of the chief rights the South wished to protect was - you guessed it.
The Klan, of course, misreads history too far in the opposite direction. It has co-opted the southern flag and would have you believe the war was fought in the name of racial purity. Truth be told, it wouldn't surprise me if it's the southern partisans who take greater offense at the Klan's arrival than those of the North.
But what the Klan does is remind us that these battles are still being waged, in hearts instead of on hillsides. ...