Subject: To Virginia.
Office of the Governor
PO Box 1475Richmond, Va 23218 6-6-20
Governor,
I’m greatly concerned with your publicized
decision to remove the Robert E Lee statue from historic Monument Ave. Now you
may wonder why some fellow from western Colorado should be concerned with your
actions. The first 55 years of my life were spent in Henrico and Hanover
counties in the landscape nursery business, and at one point in my career, my
company had a Richmond contract to replant over a hundred large sugar maples
down that same historic Monument Ave that is home to the magnificent statues of
LEE, STUART, JACKSON, DAVIS,MAURY, and ASHE, all a part of Virginia’s long
history.
I graduated from St. Christopher’s School in
Richmond, Hamden-Sydney College , and Virginia Tech. My undergrad major was
history with an emphasis on Civil War history, and I’ve walked the ground of
every major battle in Virginia, as well as Gettysburg, and Antietam.
Lee graduated at the top of his class at West
Point and became a highly decorated member of the US Army. He proved to be a
man of honor and integrity, and was so well respected that, when war became
inevitable, Lincoln offered him command of all US forces. But because of his
high sense of honor to his state of Virginia, even though he deplored secession
and slavery, he resigned his commission to support his state, and became one of
the greatest tactical generals ever produced in this country. Post Civil
War, Lee was revered not only in the South, but the North as well. In 1865 Lee
became President of Washington College in Lexington [ later Washington and
Lee], and was named the spiritual founder of The Kappa Alpha Order because he was a moral role model.
There is no question our country has experienced
the good, the bad, and the ugly in it’s long history. But, it’s still our
history, not to be trifled with, but learned from. The Civil War brought
emancipation, long overdue. Later segregation was ended, long overdue also.
Removing the Lee statue on Monument is, in my opinion, nothing but a
historically illiterate political move on your part to attempt to absolve you
of your now famous “blackface” background, curry favor with other historically
illiterates offended by the Lee statue, and to deny the history of Virginia.
In my younger years, I spent sixteen years as a
lobbyist in the General Assembly, on behalf of the industry of Virginia
agriculture, primarily for the Nursery industry and The Virginia Agribusiness
Council. During that period I had the great honor of working closely with three
governors: Mills Godwin for his two separate terms, Linwood Holton, and John
Dalton.
All outstanding governors, who had the highest
respect for the highs and lows of Virginia history.
Removing the Lee statue changes not a bit of
real history, but, with all respect to the office you hold, brands you as a
political fool for being manipulated into such action. This move and your
recent actions against the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution are sure to place
you high in the ranks of Virginia’s worst governors. Do you also intend to
remove JACKSON, STUART, and DAVIS statues ? How about the Civil War statues at
VMI ?
You sir, are a disgrace to the Commonwealth of Virginia
and your alma mater VMI! Hopefully the voters of Virginia will be more
selective in the next gubernatorial election! In my opinion you are in the same
league as our Colorado governor. both of you are sending our two great states
down the tubes, while further dividing our country!
Finally, if my comments offend you, the immortal
sentiments of Rhett Butler come to mind: “Frankly, I don’t give a damn! ”
Sincerely,
Dee Laird
Montrose, Co
No comments:
Post a Comment