A Little Rebellion Now and Then Is a Good Thing
Those are the words of Thomas Jefferson who—along with George Washington and the other Founding Fathers—were rebels.
Not rebels in the sense of James Dean or the kids from The Breakfast Club. They were the kind of men who put it all on the line—their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. If captured by the British authorities, they would have been summarily executed.
They rebelled against tyranny and injustice. They stood up for liberty and the principles of self-government that Jefferson so eloquently expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
They displayed manly virtue and inspired generations of Americans who followed them, including Robert E. Lee. Yet they are now targets of cancel culture on college campuses across the country, even most recently at W&L.
The Center for American Ideals that The Generals Redoubt is planning for its new home at Fancy Hill will be a place where the legacies of the Founding Fathers—and W&L’s founders—will be taught and celebrated.
Our goal is to inspire a new generation of American patriots—perhaps even rebels—whose passion for liberty will maintain the vitality of our fragile republic, which Ronald Reagan warned us is never more than one generation away from extinction.
We hope you enjoy the following article by H.W. Crocker III, the author of Robert E. Lee on Leadership.
Gib Kerr ‘85
We Need Kids to Be Real Rebels
H.W. Crocker III: You want a restoration of America? You want more faithful, patriotic Americans? You want a happier America? Emulate Robert E. Lee.
Do you remember “good ole boys”? They liked fast cars, long-legged women, and ballcaps with Confederate battle flags. I certainly do – and I grew up in California. In the 1990s, I wrote speeches for the governor in Sacramento. Every Sunday, I had brunch at the same Mexican restaurant; and every Sunday I parked next to a car decked out like the “Robert E. Lee” from The Dukes of Hazzard. I never found out who drove that car, but I admired it; my own key chain had a laminated mini-Confederate battle flag on it; and it was not unusual in northern California to see the battle flag on the grills of big-rig truckers.
Around then, Ken Burns’s PBS series, The Civil War, was a television sensation. It was a liberal take on the war, but as was traditional back then, that meant taking the Southern point of view seriously, even sympathetically. The star of the show, whose sweet molasses drawl won many admirers, was historian Shelby Foote, who was partial to the Confederacy.
But oh, how times have changed. These days, Critical Race Theory dominates all, and its anti-American rage – abetted by Democrat politicians and more than a few Republicans – has torn-down not just Confederate memorials, but the reputations and representations of Columbus, the Founders, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and just about every other former American hero conceivably at odds with “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
It should have come as no surprise – except to clueless conservatives – that as Confederate names come off military bases, schools, and streets, “pride” flags go running up the flagpole at every level of government, including the White House.
Click here to read the rest of Mr. Crocker’s column.