The Fire in Our Hearts

I’ve been wrestling with how to respond to the latest disgraceful act perpetrated upon our people. How to react to this lustful rage and act of revenge upon our ancestors by a brood of unbridled malcontents put in charge of this work of art, this testament to true beauty, forged in bronze, and meant to stand into eternity, is challenging for a native Southerner. The last cavalier upon his gallant horse, the irreplaceable statue of General Robert E. Lee, was one of the great masterpieces of Dixie. It was monument, to a man of honor and integrity, that proudly stood in the once great city of Charlottesville, Virginia. 

I was going to write a poem of fire and pungency, and still may, but one of our writers has already penned a fine emotional response, and I dare not take away from its prominence on these pages. 

Therefore, I shall address the insanity of a system, a government that allows for the destruction of such an iconic representation of all that is good and true. He was not just a Southern soldier, but one of the finest cadets to ever graduate from the United States Military Academy. Lee was offered the command of the United States Army, but for the love of his people, his home, and his nation (Virginia), he rejected the glory of such a position. 

To what end can we live within a system that is willing to forfeit the memory of her native son in momentary pacification of a devilish mob, that will not for a flicker in time be satisfied with the melting down of this statue? Lee himself would say, “A land without memories is a people without liberty.” So, consenting to the baser classes will do more to destroy the last vestiges of the American Empire than ever a Confederate sword could hope. And in that vein, I shall again quote our beloved general:

“The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope.“

The statues of our heroes may indeed be destroyed, but not our hope, not our desire to be free. Fix your eyes high, as if you were riding with Lee, Forrest, and Jackson in galloping stride upon their brave steeds. Watch the Empire, impotent to maintain its power, and listen to Lee in prophetic voice as it all comes to an end: “The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.“

Darker times will come, the Empire is already despotic, even upon its most loyal citizens, the travesty of those imprisoned from the protest of January 6th is self-evident. The United States government has no honor, and only decadent libertinism, not true liberty. To quote the great Southern Presbyterian, Reverend James Henley Thornwell of South Carolina, and one well fitted to this moment: “No polity can be devised which shall perpetuate freedom among a people that are dead to honor and integrity. Liberty and virtue are twin sisters, and the best fabric in the world.“ 

Brothers and sister, children of the Almighty, let the vision of Lee’s face, ablaze in molten bronze, sear, not just into your mind, but deep upon your heart. Never forget, nor forgive them, for they will ask for none. Set your faces in that fire of bronze, in a righteous anger against the Christless Empire, and never relent until our people are free. 

Deo Vindice!

God save the South!