Tearing down statutes of honorable military men over mild offenses to sensibilities is the work of the Taliban, not of any American who understands the principles and values of the 1st amendment.
Any comparison between Confederate leaders and murderous dictators such as Stalin, Lenin, or Hitler is entirely without merit. Lee and his associates waged an honorable war of defense. Indeed, it was the Union armies that violated accepted standards of the day by waging "Total War" on the entire civilian population so as to destroy all support for the war and war effort, rather than keeping the battle on the field between uniformed soldiers.
I note that there is significant common cause and overlap of personnel between those who insist on tearing down Confederate monuments and those who object to any public display of religious origins (Public Nativity scenes at Christmas time, Crosses honoring fallen peace officers, Public displays of the 10 Commandments), those who oppose private gun ownership, those opposed to sensible laws regarding self defense, and those opposed to letting bakers and other creative talent freely decide in which events to participate and which to peacefully decline.
It is also interesting to me that the same folks who have long defended National Endowment for the Arts or other tax money grants to such offensive projects as displaying a Crucifix in a glass of urine, or subsidizing theaters that choose to produce plays such as the Book of Mormon Musical, then turn around and claim tax money cannot be used to maintain Confederate Monuments because the monuments offend some people. As if making a mock of what various Christian religious groups hold sacred doesn't offend a fair number of taxpayers.
Sadly, when avowed racists rally against removing the monuments, the case to remove them is made stronger, not weaker. The lefties benefit most from violence, riots, crime, and disorder as it supports their calls for more government controls. So they will never be motivated to do the right thing and just ignore offensive groups marching. Never mind that is exactly what they have required conservatives to do with all manner of public displays (offensive billboards, homosexual pride parades, etc).
While I am not of the Southern Culture and am quite well aware of its imperfections, I also recognize that the same forces attacking that culture and history is also attacking my own. I also appreciate the good things of Southern Culture, and respect diversity of culture enough not to want to see any reasonably successful culture eradicated just because it isn't to the liking of the Bos-Wash or Hollyweird crowd.
