Today marks the symbolic end, 161 years ago, of the Slaveowners’ Revolt that tore our country apart for four long years. It had cost the lives of some 750,000 soldiers on the two sides, roughly two percent of the population. That would equate to six million deaths today. It left cities in ruins and farms in ashes awaiting the return of the armless, the legless, and those suffering from “soldier’s heart” as they called it back then.
Though it officially ended slavery it did not end the
vicious cruelty imposed upon those who arrived in our country in chains, a sin
still visited upon their descendants.
Now we are engaged in a great, but differently fought, civil
war to determine whether the imbedded promises of April 9, 1865 will prevail.
How long, we wonder, must the battle for human decency last?
We can hope, but the monetary resources of a great
international cabal face us as the murderous artillery faced American soldiers
from Missionary Ridge and the cliffs of Omaha Beach. Their power flourishes within from the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. Even
the purchase of a chicken sandwich or hobby tool bolsters their power. What we
need more than ever is the will to prevail against monstrous odds.
We could use a man like Ulysses S. Grant again.
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