Reply #18: It's over. Time to let it go and get over it.

[Obamanaut]

There are those who will say derogatory things about the South, and others who will do likewise about the North. After this amount of time, maybe a thought could be to just let it go. In the article, we read that “It is about reconciliation…”, and this would not be a day too soon.

One can find different references as to who first decorated which cemetery - here are some ideas in the same article. Does who came first really matter, or is it a case of “my dad can beat up your dad.”

Let it go.


http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

<snip> It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

<snip> There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920).

<snip>Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.