Peacemakers don't dwell on bitterness

I was disappointed to see the Rev. Joseph A. Darby's Feb. 19 column, titled "We should not honor secessionists," in The Post and Courier.

At first, he appeared to me to be writing merely to express his opposition to the idea of erecting a monument at Patriots Point to the 171 South Carolinians who signed the Ordinance of Secession in 1860, a document that represents a tragic and transformative time in the history of our nation.

Rev. Darby called all those who signed that document 150 years ago "traitors" who deserted their country.

However, a careful reading of Rev. Darby's guest column causes me to opine his agenda had more to do with modern politics than it did with his views on history.

He bitterly criticized the two African-American political leaders, Sen. Robert Ford and Rep. Tim Scott, who have endorsed the proposed monument at Patriots Point.

Without saying so directly, Rev. Darby, in my opinion, rather clearly suggested that Sen. Ford and Rep. Scott were also traitors who somehow deserted a cause they should be serving.

From my view, nothing could be further from the truth. Sen. Ford, a Democrat, and Rep. Scott, a Republican, knew they would be criticized by more than just those who seek to fan the flames of bitterness.

Fortunately, Sen. Ford and Rep. Scott had the moral courage to approach the issue like statesmen, with tolerance and respect for conflicting views. Their goal was to bring people together and to foster mutual respect for a diverse heritage.

On the issue of secession, the facts open a rich and fascinating chapter in our state's history, with varying perspectives all our citizens can share with each other in civil conversation.

Yes, the issue of slavery was indeed involved. And today, we all celebrate the end of slavery and the tremendous progress we have made as a people in bridging the racial divide in America.

But the issue of secession also dealt with other issues like state sovereignty and the legal nature of the American union. During the early and mid-19th century, the dominant view was that every state that freely entered the union had the right to freely leave it. Both Northern and Southern states had claimed the right to secede.

It is interesting to note that no Southerner — not the president of the Confederacy nor any soldier or politician who served in the Confederacy — was ever tried and convicted of treason for secession. Indeed, it is likely that the right to secede was lost on the battlefield at a time when the seceding states probably could have won the issue in federal court, where it was never tested.

Rev. Darby would be well-advised to study the history of the War Between the States a little more carefully. It is my view that he could take a lesson in compassion and understanding from those who shot at one another on the field of battle. After the war, they put their weapons down and extended to each other the hand of friendship.

Union Gen. Joshua Chamberlain said it well when the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered at Appomattox. "... In the march of man," he said, "they (the Confederates) fought as they were taught, true to such ideals as they saw. We could not look into those brave bronze faces and those battered flags we had met on so many fields ... and think of personal hate and mean revenge."

Today, Rev. Darby seems to me less willing to extend the hand of mutual respect than the men whose blood was actually spilled on the field of battle 150 years ago.

A song that was popular a few years ago has meaning we urgently need to apply today as we seek to get along with each other and celebrate our diverse heritage.

"When we open up a quarrel between the present and the past," the song goes, "we only sacrifice the future. It's the bitterness that lasts."

Ironically, Sen. Ford and Rep. Scott, two politicians, seem, in my opinion, to have a better grasp than Rev. Darby of a spiritual lesson we all remember:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the earth."

Glenn McConnell is president pro tempore of the S.C. Senate.