But these comparisons are idle. I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war,
Sherman wrote in September 1864, as he laid siege of Atlanta in the attempts to end the war of secession; otherwise known as the American Civil War.
Who would have surmised that in the weeks following the day dedicated to honoring fallen soldiers with wreaths placed at monuments, the country would be swept with a wave of their destruction? It’s painful as it is necessary. Painful because a monument is a way of honoring good deeds of leaders and the memory of dearly beloved relatives and friends. Necessary because for others rocks shaped into monuments can be the terrible reminder of atrocities suffered by beloved relatives and friends.
As the Union army captured Atlanta Sherman sent a letter to its civic leaders recommending they evacuate their citizens. He intended to destroy its infrastructure in the effort to end the long and bloody war. The line of logic concludes: “war is war and you cannot refine it”. The city was destroyed but its inhabitants spared.
The American Civil War threatened the collapse of a young nation. Of greater interest today is that it ended slavery or at least delegitimized it. In the effort to reunite the nation monuments were made in many towns and cities across the country. It was as a way of grieving for lost sons, fathers and brothers –casualties that exceeded more than all other US wars combined. Building monuments became as it were a path towards reconciliation and forgiveness.
Recent events remind us we still have a long way to go by way of reconciliation and healing. Honest conversations about monuments are important. Discussions are futile if not supported by real change eradicating economic and social disparity due to systemic racism. Underlining both these questions is a deeper one: to what extent and in what ways do we as a people wish to preserve what we know as the United Sates of America?
I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices today than any of you to secure peace.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letter_to_James_M._Calhoun,_et_al.,_September_12,_1864
Sherman continued in his letter to the citizens of Atlanta. He tried to show through deeds his desire to works towards peace and unity. Do I know how to do that? Am I willing to make sacrifices to do so?
Sherman was convinced : “You cannot have peace and a division of our country. If the United States submits to a division now, it will not stop.” Creating a more perfect union by way of thoughtful engagement, compromise and consensus is not easy. But it’s necessary if we wish to continue to strengthen unity through diversity under the longest enduring constitution the world has known. Yes, our country is imperfect. Yes, it’s easier to destroy than to create, demolish than to build, tear than to mend and kill than to heal. But what would be left to bind us a country?
Achieving the more perfect union the framers of the constitution, our forefathers and mothers envisioned compels me like Sherman to want to work towards building, creating, mending and healing. A commitment to liberty and justice for all is a war of a different sort that provides conditions for peace to endure. That’s a war of independence worth fighting.
