War of Northern Agression

For that is what it was, in reality. The entry in Wikipedia begins: The American Civil War (1861–1865), also known as the War Between the States (among other names), was a civil war in the United States of America. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War)
I particularly like the 'among other names'. It should never, under any circumstances, be called a 'civil war'. To quote the great writer Shelby Foote, "There was nothing civil about that war." From Wikipedia: Shelby Dade Foote, Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American historian and novelist who wrote The Civil War: A Narrative, a massive, three-volume history of the war. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War)
There are two kind of Southerners, those who have read his masterpiece, and those who have not.
The Confederates were forced by the president of the disunited states of america to fire on Fort Sumter at 4:30 am 150 years ago today. The devil Lincoln decided, against the advice of everyone in his cabinet, to re-supply the Fort, deep in the heart of the Confederate States of America. Alone among his administration and knowing it meant war, Lincoln sent supplies he knew would never make it to the Fort. It was extremely important to the devil Lincoln that the South fire the first shot because he knew historians would write that the South was the agressor.
Flash forward a century and contrast President John F Kennedy's handling of the Cuban Missle Crisis. Against the advice of his cabinet and the joint chiefs of staff, JFK stood alone, refusing to bomb targets in Cuba, knowing it would mean war. Make no mistake, the devil Lincoln wanted war, knowing it was the only way for the Hamiltonian northerners to obtain the wealth of the South. A close reading of history informs one that Europeans considered the war to be one of economics; a transfer of wealth. War, it has been said, is politics by other means. Those who say that the war of northern agression was about slavery are right only to the extent that the issue had been settled in 1857 by the decision in the case before the Supreme Court titled Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393. The law, as far as slavery was concerned, was on the side of the South. It took Lincoln's war to change the law.
Please do not get me wrong, I am against slavery, for the simple reason that I would not wish to be enslaved. Watching Ken Burns series titled The Civil War, I heard spoken history from a plantation owner who said, "I would rather be dead than be a nigger on a plantation." I am not proud of the history of my forefathers. It is not difficult to understand why this country has been so successful when one considers the fact that caucasian Europeans came here and took the land from those to whom it belonged, performed genocide on native americans for good measure, then imported Negroes to work the land. Who would not prosper with free land and free labor? If there is such a thing as 'karma' then the people of this land are doomed. DOOMED!
My cousin, a retired high school english teacher, lived in Jonesboro, a city in the great state of Georgia, my home state. She resided just off Tara Boulevard. One of her passions was the movie Gone With The Wind, certainly one of the greatest movies of all time. She had a plethora memorabilia from the movie, including dolls of the characters. Yet during a discussion concerning Lincoln's Gettysburg address, she was perplexed when I expressed my view, which was contrary to what she had taught for decades. She maintained the address was one of the greatest speeches ever delivered. "Not to a Southerner," I responded. She was perplexed, as my view did not fit in with her long held belief. I explained that what had been taught to us Southerners was from the viewpoint of the victors, the damned yankees. As far as I was concerned, she was only passing on yankee propaganda. I told her that it was extremely important to continue reading after school, to think for oneself, and make up ones own mind. Then she dropped the bomb, saying that Lincoln had "saved the union." This was more than I could take. "Look, Cuz, that's like you going to Tommy and telling him you want a D-I-V-O-R-C-E. He proceeds to beat the shit outta you, rapes you and takes everything you got, then puts his boot to your neck and chains you to a post in the basement, and then says he "saved the marriage!" I actually saw understanding emanate from my cousin's face. All she said was, "You think differently, Michael." One of her daughters told me later that Linda had said, "That Michael really makes you think." Kim said, "Hurts, doesn't it mother?"
During the last decade I heard a number of people say "George Dubya Bush is the worst president we've ever had!" You can imagine the look I received each time I came back with, "No. He was not as bad as Lincoln." Invariably they would say something like, "What? I thought he was our greatest president?"
"How could you possible think that?" I would ask. "He killed his own people." They would look at me like I just told them I was from the planet Zud! So many writers have written hagiographies of Lincoln that a cult has formed.
The Nazi Joseph Goebbels said, "The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed." draft