It's always been an interesting ethical question. For example, imagine one is a German army office. You served with distinction in WW1 and are now a senior leader. In 1933 this Hitler guy, y"sh, comes to power but you're not a supporter. However, you are loyal to the German nation and a good soldier. Why would you quit the army? Then Hitler starts a war. Well the job of the army is to perform the orders of the government so you go off and fight, just like in WW1. And you do quite well. Yes, eventually you lose but you won quite a few battles along the way. Maybe you're even famous like Rommel because you're a brilliant tactician. You didn't work in a concentration camp. You never directed a campaign against civilians. You just fought in army battles, soldier against soldier. Are you a villain because you didn't announce in 1939 "No, Adolph, I'm not going to invade Poland because it's wrong!"? It's the same with these Confederate generals. They seceded with the Confederacy, feeling the Union had lost its legitimacy. They continued to function as generals in the new army. Yes, the regime they were defending was evil but they were just doing the same job they had done all their lives. Do we excise them from history because of this?
You really are ignoring the facts. 7 of 8 west point grads of Virginia refused to join the confederate forces. Lee believed and supported slavery and that is why he fought
It's always been an interesting ethical question.
ReplyDeleteFor example, imagine one is a German army office. You served with distinction in WW1 and are now a senior leader. In 1933 this Hitler guy, y"sh, comes to power but you're not a supporter. However, you are loyal to the German nation and a good soldier. Why would you quit the army? Then Hitler starts a war. Well the job of the army is to perform the orders of the government so you go off and fight, just like in WW1. And you do quite well. Yes, eventually you lose but you won quite a few battles along the way. Maybe you're even famous like Rommel because you're a brilliant tactician. You didn't work in a concentration camp. You never directed a campaign against civilians. You just fought in army battles, soldier against soldier. Are you a villain because you didn't announce in 1939 "No, Adolph, I'm not going to invade Poland because it's wrong!"?
It's the same with these Confederate generals. They seceded with the Confederacy, feeling the Union had lost its legitimacy. They continued to function as generals in the new army. Yes, the regime they were defending was evil but they were just doing the same job they had done all their lives. Do we excise them from history because of this?
You really are ignoring the facts. 7 of 8 west point grads of Virginia refused to join the confederate forces. Lee believed and supported slavery and that is why he fought
ReplyDeletedo you think today they also believe in slavery?
ReplyDeleteand if Americans buy cheap goods from Chinese or mexican sweatshops, is that modern day slavery?