In my neck of the woods too D&B. But personally, I feel like veterans should be honored, even if we don't see things the same way any longer. Where my Confederate ancestors are concerned, I have to constantly remind myself not to read history with modern eyes, which is especially hard to do with the Civil War. But I try not to villianize the Confederate soldiers, even though I abhor the concept of enslaving anyone. There were a whole lot of other contributing factors to the secession of the southern states besides the slavery, such as the belief in having less government control and greater empowerment of the individual states. Not that that makes it OK, it doesn't. It only helps to understand where these guys were coming from. I also try to remember that most of them were just farmers, who had a whole lot less access to information and varying viewpoints than we do now.
Its a rather uniquely American quandry to be descended from a man who led the town of Medford MA in freeing a fugitive slave on my mother's side, and to be descended on my dad's side from one Confederate who served in the cavalry, one who desserted three times and another who was part of a local defense troop called the "Beech Creek Jerkers" because they were known for having "jerked a few necks"!
Ultimately, I've had to come to terms with both, try to respect both, to realize that neither dictates who I am and that the best way we can avoid making mistakes in the future, is to thoroughly understand our own history. I'm glad you brought that up D&B!
