Out of the mouths of babes. . .

I'm glad to see that kids these days (Generations X and Y, if you want to
label them) don't care the same way about the issues which have divided us
so frequently as a nation.  They're growing up with the benefit of having
had most of the good fights fought by their parents and grandparents--their
world is one in which folks largely agree on the principles by which we
should live, though even now the practices are still struggling to catch up.
I applaud that change, and hope that you, Deane, teach your daughter to be
proud of her ancestry without feeling that the only (or best) way to show it
is to denigrate another group.  Your daughter is right--we need to live much
more in the present and future than in the past.

I, too, am Virginia-born and -raised, and trace my Virginia ancestry to Isle
of Wight County in 1620.  However, when remembering my Virginia heritage I
choose not to dwell on the events of the years 1861-1865, but instead prefer
to hearken to the ideals developed in large part by Virginians such as
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison--ideals such as
equality, liberty, the primacy of law, the ability to pursue our own
happiness, and the notion of independent self-worth.  Luckily we have been
graced with our own intellects, so we can see where their ideals fell short
in practice; and we can take those ideals and work to apply them to everyone
as it ought to be done.  We learn from the past and apply it to the
future--it's how we grow as a nation.

--Eric


 -----Original Message-----
From: Deane [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 10:02 PM
To: W. Scott Smith; Randy Cabell; Paul Shelton; Paul Finkelman; Kevin
Hardwick; Jim Watkinson; Harvey L. Bottoms; Discussion of research and
writing about Virginia history; Anne Pemberton; D.J. Peirce; Harold S.
Forsythe; Henry Wiencek; Johnson, Eric
Subject: Sherman etc.



Ok Folks,
Let's lighten up here.
I apologize for offending anyone and for setting off a fire bomb about The
Wah.
I was just reading some of these letters, including my own, to my
"Generation X" daughter, and she said to me, "Mumma, you and all those
people are just a bunch of dorks! Who cares about that war? You all need to
get a life!"
Looks like I have my work cut out for me in properly educating her!
Most sincerely and with kind regards,
Deane F. Mills
Still proud of my Virginia Roots
And very happy for Professor Finkelman's Fortunate Child

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