To Be Free

A recent survey shows that most Americans don't have a clear idea of the main cause of the Civil War: slavery. Over a hundred years of denial, coupled with "scholarly" works that hold that it was a war of aggression on the part of the North for all sorts of other reasons, have led generations to believe that the South was blameless for what happened. Be it by ignoring the issue or miscasting it entirely, millions of Americans have failed to come to terms with their shameful past. Thus, the bloody struggle for equality during the 20th century, and the still uneasy race relations in the U.S.

This is an example of why "forgive and forget" is not an option, when it comes to major social upheavals such as a civil war. The root causes of such a rift in the social fabric must be examined. Lying about or romanticizing the past won't solve anything. Only the truth, as painful as it usually is, will set everybody free.

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