It seems to me that there is to be no end to the silly actions and demands of those of the “professional offendee” movement.  Just when it appears it has run its course, someone with nothing better to occupy their time and effort comes up with another (in my opinion) excuse to be offended and have whatever or whoever offends them removed from visibility or sound.

During the April 23 Pat Campbell morning talk show, now 6-9 a.m., Campbell came up with a little-publicized story that due to complaints, the recording of the late Kate Smith singing God Bless America would no longer be played during baseball games, and possibly other games, in New York.  The excuse given was that she had recorded two songs, in the 1930s, that were “racist”!

Hopefully, the reported lack of publicity will deprive them of that satisfaction. The old adage that “he who forgets or is ignorant of the history is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past’ still is in force.

 But it seems to me that these groups and individuals are more interested in obtaining their moment of publicity than in the actual reason for the fuss.  Unfortunately for we who usually are actually offended, and sometimes mentally damaged, by such monstrosities, we usually passively sit and accept the affront to our memories and sensibilities.

Frankly, it appears to me that such people are taking a page from the past and present activities of those of the worldwide Islamic extremist movement.  Whenever they have taken over a territory, the first thing they do is destroy any and all evidences of the religion that was there, even if those features were of true historical significance and/or of scientific importance.

 It has now occurred to me that this influence is behind the sometimes violent removal here in the United States of statues of past heroes and names of buildings.

Personal to me was the decision last year of the Tulsa Public School Board to rename the Robert E. Lee Elementary School attended by me and many of my school friends.  The excuse was that “he had owned slaves and was a Confederate General opposing emancipation.”  This was a cut to the heart of most of those I knew while in that school and the final removal of any physical memories of our whole school life, since Horace Mann Jr. High was demolished and Central High School building replaced by a building located not even close to being central. (Thankfully, the purchaser, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, has kept the appearance of the building, but somewhat modernized it.  That was necessary since it was not air-conditioned).

It did not bother them that General Lee never actually owned any slaves and any he had were inherited by his wife.  Reportedly, he also was on record as opposing slavery and had freed many of his wife’s slaves once they were literate and could function in society and business.  Also, President Lincoln had asked him to lead the Union Army, but he declined because he did not want to be in the position of killing any relatives. 

Also, he was a top of class graduate of the military academy at West Point, was pardoned by Lincoln and treated generously at the surrender by General Grant, who refused to take his sword.

I learned while on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. that the Arlington National Cemetery is on the property originally part of the Lee estate and the Lee home is still present there.  Maybe the next attack on his memory will be to rename that whole area to eradicate his name completely from history.  Of course, there have been some well-publicized “riots” in the South where militant mobs succeeded in destroying statues of prominent individuals.

All these riotous mobs will continue to carry out their nefarious conduct until the police of various levels of government come up with the political permission and capability to physically quell those illegal actions and incarcerate them, where they should be, and exact reparations for those damaged by their actions. 

At least we can hope for sanity to again rule.