Last week, Virginia's supposedly moderate governor, Bob McDonnell, declared April Confederate History Month.
His official proclamation called on all Virginians to reflect upon our commonwealth's shared history and understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders
soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War.
The seven-paragraph statement, however, included a glaring omission - any mention of our nation's most criminal injustice - the practice of slavery.
Civil rights leaders in Virginia and across the country slammed McDonnell's proclamation. Some, such as BET co-founder and early McDonnell supporter Sheila Johnson, described his rhetoric as academically flawed and personally offensive.
She's absolutely right. And Gov. McDonnell's immediate reaction to the controversy shows exactly why.
Instead of admitting his obvious mistake, McDonnell defended the omission. Of the Civil War, he said, Obviously it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia.
Excluding the fact that Virginia was home to as many as 500,000 slaves, the atrocity stands as the most gross, inhumane injustice in our nation's history.
And it was nothing if not a central tenet of the Confederacy. I'm not the only one who thinks so. Ask the Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens, who exclaimed in his 1861 Cornerstone Speech that our government and union was based on the fundamental notion that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery - subordination to the superior race - is his natural and normal condition.
He called it a great and moral truth. Does that sound insignificant to you?
Following the boon of criticism and his vocal defense, Gov. McDonnell apologized in a statement, amending the proclamation to include a clause citing slavery as the root cause of the Civil War.
Still, many on the right continue defending his exclusion. Former Virginia GOP Chairman Patrick McSweeney applauded McDonnell for his political courage. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who also heads the Republican Governors Association, called it a nit and not significant. He even went on to say there was no need for McDonnell to apologize.
Conservative commentator, and former presidential candidate, Pat Buchannan tried to redefine the Civil War and secessionist movements as rooted in the absolution of states rights.
Right, Pat. Over a state's right to own slaves.
The past is important. And understanding history as it actually occurred is paramount, especially for those of us growing up without first-hand knowledge of our nation's greatest tragedy. You can't fully understand the Confederacy's formation and the war that followed without recognizing the role slavery played in both. That's why when politicians placate and pundits try to rewrite the record-books, we as young people and Americans need to stand up and demand a clearer truth.
Our founding fathers wrote the constitution so it could change with the times, and it has. But while laws continue evolving, history is permanent. And as we celebrate it, we must acknowledge the bad as well as the good.
In fact, McDonnell's outrageous omission reminds us that race is still an uncomfortable topic in this country. Instead of running from or ignoring it - like our nation's history - we should embrace it.
With the absolution of slavery and election of our first black president, some cling to the notion that race no longer matters - that inequality no longer exists. The controversy surrounding Gov. McDonnell's proclamation ought to put this myth to rest.
Andrew Zucker is a junior studying political communications strategies and Wednesday columnist for The Post. Send him your confederate flag pins at az202606@ohiou.edu
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Opinion
Andrew Zucker
