Gentlemen and Ladies,
I believe I realize that this may, or may not, be appropreate, however, I'm going to stick my head into this and hope for the best. I am not as astute and well versed as some of you, and perhaps most of you, who frequent this board. I realize what my short comings are, and I try my best to stay away from them. As I have read the postings of this Philosophy thread, I am struck with the thought, that after all is said and done, we are all human. We all have our weaknesses, as well as our strengths. I have yet to find out exactly what my strengths are, but I'm very aware of what my weaknesses are. I see men and women who very much appreciate this board and what it stands for, and try their utmost to adhear to it's standards. To everyone on this board, and to the ones who have debated upon this thread of Philosophy, I can relate to how your feelings can sometimes find a way to be touched. As I have stated here on this board, I can now see, more clearly now than I ever did just a few short years ago, how the men and women of the 1860's must have felt about the causes they believed in. Those feelings were very strong. They were very passionate about those feelings, and sometimes, in the heat of 'battle', so to speak, those feelings came to the forefront, and words were spoken, that in the heat of 'combat', were wished they could have called back, or retracted. I have felt some of those same feelings, just as some of you, who are 'grizzled' veterans of this board, are feeling today or have felt yesterday in discussing the philosophy about coersion. I believe that at one time, I came close to offending some folks here upon this very board. It was not my intention to do so, it was done on the spur of the moment, and in haste. Did I regret those words that I spoke with such vehemense and passion? I did, and I didn't. At the time, I felt I was being attacked, just as the Southerners of 1860 must have felt. I could have used a little more 'tact', I suppose, but my initial reaction was to lash out at my attackers. This didn't happen in just one post, it took a few of them for it to reach the surface of my being. I felt I was standing up for my cause, defending it against someone who degraded what I believed in, who tried to tell me that was less than something good. I see this very thing happening in this thread. I see folks who have become somewhat offended by others remarks. Are these remarks done with the intention of actually hurting someones feelings? No, I don't believe they are. We, and I mean all of us who come to this board, are fully aware of (for the most part), what this conflict was all about. We all have our different opinions of any event, the men and women who fought in that conflict, and their reasons for doing so. The individuals who come to this board are some of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to 'chat' with, and I know that most of you will agree. Sometimes, even the best of us, will have moments of losing it, if you will. But, I really believe that none of us does so with the intention of actually 'hurting' someone else. We are all most passionate about what we believe in here, and as I've said before, most of us will, in all likely hood, never really be pursuaded otherwise. We may all respect each other and in those principles in which they believe, but in our own beliefs, we hold dear, just as the opposites to us, believe in theirs. I sincerly hope that this closing down of this thread doesn't reflect upon the good people of this board. I also hope that those who oversee this board, will see fit to reopen or continue with this thread, in hopes that even through all this 'adversity', we will all "come through in the clutch", and remain the friends that we are. Yes, this was a brother against brother, father against son, family against family, war. But, in the end, we all came together to form a wonderful country. We still have our differences, to be sure, but when the chips are down, we stand together. I enjoy this board, and the folks who come here, and as I have stated once before, I have seen the elephant..........and I understand. I believe our ancestors would be proud of us, and of what we have achieved. May each of us continue to uphold the traditions of our forebearers, and continue to carry on dispite all the obstacles that may lay in our paths. I salute you all.......brothers and sisters in arms.
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With Respect,
SgtCSA
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