> And if people think there are too many state holidays already,  
> let's retire
> Lee-Jackson Day and inaugurate Emancipation Day/Juneteenth instead.
>

At the risk of starting an entirely new discussion that could be even  
more divisive than this one, I have to say that there are too many  
Virginia residents with ancestors who served under Lee and Jackson  
(and I am one) who would oppose the retiring of Lee-Jackson Day.  
Regardless of what one may think of the appropriateness of the  
holiday, the fact remains that much of the CW was fought on Virginia  
soil by common farmers--most of whom did not own slaves--who viewed  
the Federal forces as invaders of their native land. It is these  
ancestors that most of their descendants today wish to honor--not for  
their slave owning or defense of it--but for the defense of their  
state. And Lee-Jackson Day is simply the vehicle for that remembrance.

And there are also those with their own agendas who view Lee-Jackson  
day as a vehicle for re-fighting and re-hashing the Civil War. But  
there will always be extremists of that type on either side of any  
argument.

___________________
Donald W. Moore
Virginia Beach, Virginia


To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html