Jim Gilmore on Lee and Jackson

Tomorrow, Monday, is the original Lee - Jackson Day. With the celebration now being observed on Friday, a battle has been waging on the legitimacy of this sacred Virginia Holiday.

One thing Virginians like the most of their elected officials is a backbone. The more tempered the steel--the better. That is why Virginians flourished and thrived under the leadership of Jim Gilmore. He stood for something and as a result, fell for nothing. Of course, he held (and holds) strong on his belief in our second amendment rights, keeping taxes low, promoting pro-family values and supporting our military.

But more than that, he knew that the history of our Commonwealth was just as important as our present and future. If we cannot celebrate and hold fast to our history and traditions, we are doomed. Jim Gilmore recognized that and stood up in support of men like Lee and Jackson and the cause in which they believed in, fought for, and in Jackson's case--died for. He stood up for the farmers who left their plows, the students who left their books and classrooms, the laborers who walked away from their chores, the bank tellers who closed their windows, and the priests who stepped down from their pulpits. He stood up for those men who fought together, bled together, and suffered and died together--all for a cause they cared so deeply for.

And with that steadfastness, he issued this proclamation as governor:

CERTIFICATE of RECOGNITION

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution in the Governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:
Confederate History Month

WHEREAS, it was during the month of April that the people of the Confederate States of America began at Fort Sumter, South Carolina and ended at Appomattox, Virginia a four-year tragic, heroic and determined struggle for deeply held beliefs; and

WHEREAS, Virginia has long recognized her Confederate history, the officers and enlisted men of the Army and the Navy and those at home who made sacrifices on behalf of their families, homes, communities, Virginia and country; and that it is just and right to do so; and

WHEREAS, the noble spirit and inspiring leadership of great Confederate Generals, leaders, and the ordinary men and women, free and not free, of the Confederate States is an integral part of the history of all of America; and

WHEREAS, upon the conclusion of the war, many of these same leaders and citizens worked tirelessly to reunite and rebuild this country and forge reconciliation; and

WHEREAS, our recognition of Confederate history also recognizes that slavery was one of the causes of the war; and

WHEREAS, slavery was a practice that deprived African-Americans of their God-given inalienable rights, which degraded the human spirit, is abhorred and condemned by Virginians, and was ended by this war; and

WHEREAS, the numerous battlefields, monuments, museums and other historical sites to be found in Virginia allow our citizens, and indeed people from all over the world, to remember, study and appreciate the men and women of that unique time in the history of our Commonwealth and nation; and

WHEREAS, Virginia is proud and pleased to recognize and celebrate all those who fought and sacrificed in this great struggle that divided families, the nation, and our Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the knowledge of the role of the Confederate States of America in the history of our nation and our Commonwealth is vital to understanding who we are and what we are; and

WHEREAS, we honor our past and from it draw the courage, strength and wisdom to reconcile ourselves, and go forward into the future together as Virginians and Americans,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, James S. Gilmore, III, Governor, do hereby recognize April 1998 as Confederate History Month in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

Jim Gilmore is a true Virginian. This is just ANOTHER reason why he will serve us well in the Senate.

Cross posted at The Journal of Civilized Man.