San Diego is 2,500 miles away from the resting place of Robert E. Lee, a noble gentleman who led valiantly during the Civil War for his home state Virginia and San Diego had an elementary school named after him. This, however, will no long be the case as a demand for a name change arose after the national ruckus over removing Confederate symbols from public places.
Calls for the name change rose last year amid a nationwide movement to remove symbols of the Confederacy from public places. However, surveys of the school community in Paradise Hills and of the public at large showed widespread support for keeping the name as-is, or at least maintaining “Lee” in the title.
The school was named for the Civil War general when it opened in 1959 in honor of his contributions as an American soldier, according to the district. Lee was a longtime U.S. Army officer, but as a resident of Virginia, sided with the South in the war between the states.
“The narrow-minded and bigoted protesters would have us believe that the stars and bars represent only one thing, and that is the history of slavery. That is ignorant beyond belief, and it shows how misguided the protesters are when considering southern history and culture. Unfortunately, Democrat politicians are determined to pander to this overblown expression of concern, and so the rich history of the south is denigrated and dismissed as the flag is hidden away in closets and drawers, out of sight from the public eye,” noted Truth and Action.
Robert E. Lee’s namesake has been changed to Pacific View Leadership Elementary School as if this will somehow elevate the school to a higher level.
Yet, this noble man is no lover of war and fought for his home state. He wrote a letter in response to a speech given by President Pierce where he stated his view of slavery, an “institution is a moral and political evil.”
He hated war and said, “What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.”
By changing the name of a San Diego school, to something without depth of meaning, the students have missed an opportunity to learn historically significant facts about this nation, and a man who stood on his convictions and character.
Source: 10 news
