 Abolishing
American History
by
David Dieteman
Maryland
legislators are fighting over whether to abolish "Maryland,
My Maryland" as the state song.
What’s
the fuss all about?
The
song contains, for example, the following two stanzas which Montgomery
County Democrat Peter Franchot finds contrary to "21st century
values" (whatever those are):
The
despot’s heel is on thy shore, Maryland!
His
torch is at thy temple door, Maryland!Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,And be the battle queen
of yore, Maryland! My Maryland!
I
hear the distant thunder-hum, Maryland! The Old Line’s bugle,
fife, and drum, Maryland! She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb
– Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum! She breathes! she
burns! she’ll come! she’ll come! Maryland! My Maryland!
For
those who are unclear on the identity of "the despot,"
it is Abraham Lincoln. The first shots of the war were not fired
at Fort Sumter. They were fired in Baltimore, where citizens resisted
after Lincoln moved large numbers of federal troops ("the Northern
scum") into the city.
As
the Washington Times reports,
Maryland,
though it remained loyal to the union, contributed thousands of
troops to the Confederacy and Baltimore was a particular hotbed
of Confederate sympathy. The song, written in 1861 by Confederate
sympathizer James Ryder Randall, was an appeal for secession,
urging Maryland to avenge "the patriotic gore that flecked
the streets of Baltimore."
Randall
wrote the song, then, as a direct response to the occupation of
Baltimore by federal troops.
What
the Times – which used to run a special civil war section
in every Saturday paper – fails to mention is the fact that
Maryland "remained loyal to the union" because Abraham
Lincoln imprisoned members of the Maryland legislature who were
preparing to vote to recognize the Confederate States of America.
(As
an aside, Lincoln’s conduct cannot be justified by the argument
that he acted to prevent a "national emergency" by imprisoning
members of the Maryland state legislature. Lincoln was the
national emergency. Those tempted to disagree should ask themselves
what sort of policy dispute might justify George W. Bush’s imprisoning
state legislators – without charges – until he gets his
way with their state. The answer is "exactly nothing.")
Once
the Maryland legislature has obliterated the state song, perhaps
they will pick a new state flag. This is demanded by consistency,
since the red and white botony crosses in the flag (see above) originated
as insignia worn by Marylanders fighting for the Confederacy. There
would be precedent for this. As the web site of the Secretary
of State for Maryland observes "People displaying these red-and-white
symbols of resistance to the Union and to Lincoln's policies were
vigorously prosecuted by Federal authorities." So much for the First
Amendment.
In
1997, the Commonwealth of Virginia voted to remove "Carry Me
Back to Old Virginny" as its state song. The tune was first
made the state song in 1940.
The
reason? As the Washington
Times
reports, the song’s
reference
to "this old darkey’s" desire to return to Virginia,
where he had worked "so hard for old massa," was offensive
in its portrayal of a freed slave’s nostalgia for the plantation
life.
Apparently
lost on the Virginia legislature was the fact that "The song
was written by James Bland, a free black New Yorker who wrote more
than 700 songs after quitting Howard University to become a minstrel."
I
suppose that Virginia next will pass an omnibus consumer protection
and racial sensitivity law to ban advertising by Mastercard.
The
Bible will have to go next, what with all those references to the
Hebrews living as slaves in Egypt. Yet more offensively, while Moses
was up on Mount Sinai, the Hebrews reportedly longed to return to
Egypt. Clearly, this portrayal of nostalgia for a life of slavery
must be stricken.
Perhaps
state universities in Maryland and Virginia will also ban books
by Hegel and Nietzsche, since both philosophers write at considerable
length about the relations of masters to slaves.
 As
one woman told the Times, "It’s a shame that they’re
trying to rewrite history. It’s like saying we should go back and
erase every event that may have hurt someone."
Yes,
it’s exactly like that.
March
15, 2001
Mr.
Dieteman is an attorney in Erie, Pennsylvania, and a PhD candidate
in philosophy at The Catholic University of America.
©
2001 David Dieteman
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