Last night, I sold books at the Civic Center for the Seventh Annual Confederate Heritage Conference.  In addition to having a good night of sales, networking, and exposure, I was able to hear two motivating and information-packed speeches.  For example, David Aiken, an English teacher at the College of Charleston and the Citadel, spoke on the topic of the invasion of  the South during the War Between the States and why the war against the South was the worst crime this country has ever committed. The reasons he listed and expounded in his speech to defend his claim  were:

1. The number of deaths (both black and white) that the North’s invasion caused.

2. The atrocities  committed against the Southern civilian population. (In the news today, these would be “war crime” and the people who committed them–like Sherman–would be war criminals.)

3. The destruction of property and the pillaging of the wealth of the South.

4. The loss of liberty. Aiken pointed out that there was a major shift in government after the war, and that whatever liberty and freedoms we had before it, had shifted and changed along with the government policies. He pointed out that if Thomas Jefferson and George Washington had been alive during the Civil War, they would have sided with the South.

This speech was one of the better ones I’ve heard in my life–full of history and facts. And this was only one of the speakers.  There was so much more I could say about this conference, but I’ll save that for later.

NEWS:

Today, I’ll be back at the Monroe Civic Center at 8:00 a.m., work there till 10:30 or so, then go to the Monroe Library at 2:00 for a signing there, then to Jim Bowie Relay Station where our band will play and I’ll sell more books. I love busy days.