[quote=Kilohana]
Yes, the Rush quotes were real. Does context really matter when the the topic is the so-called merits of slavery? How about praising the assassin of an American icon and Civil Rights leader? Is there *any* context in which this would be appropriate?
Is this type of dialogue good for America? Is this really who we are?[/quote]
I am a history lover, and yes, the context of those quotes most definiatley does matter. Slavery did have some positive merits. I wont say there were any for those who were enslaved, but for those who were not there were some. To fully understand slavery, and the civil war which ended it, you must understand why people were willing to put their lives on the line to continue slavery. We cannot and must not judge the past upon todays morals. That is revisonist and uninstightful. We dont judge tribes in the Amazon by London standards, and that is about the same reasoning to look back 160 years and use today’s logic.
An “acceptable” context would be to understand today’s roots of racism and how to combat it. Most whites were little better economically than many blacks in the pre-civil war south. However, They were “free” men, and better than the black slaves for it, and were willing to die for it. I fully believe we cannot understand modern racism without abject analysis of this time, and that includes the context in which they thought.
There is no jusdication for the praising a murder. Ever. But it can help to understand why they were driven to murder. That is where my hair stood up. The man deserved nothing but analysis and condemination. I hope by learning from what happened we can avoid it happening again.
