Jim Webb: Confederate soldiers fought honorably
Former Virginia senator and potential Democratic presidential candidate Jim Webb weighed in on the Confederate flag debate on Wednesday, urging careful consideration of both sides of the historical argument.
"This is an emotional time and we all need to think through these issues with a care that recognizes the need for change but also respects the complicated history of the Civil War. The Confederate Battle Flag has wrongly been used for racist and other purposes in recent decades. It should not be used in any way as a political symbol that divides us," Webb wrote in a Facebook post.
Americans should remember that people on both sides fought honorably, Webb said, "including slave holders in the Union Army from states such as Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware, and that many non-slave holders fought for the South."
"It was in recognition of the character of soldiers on both sides that the federal government authorized the construction of the Confederate Memorial 100 years ago, on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery," he wrote.
This is not the first time that Webb has addressed the Civil War's legacy in the commonwealth.
Almost 17 years before he became a senator, he spoke at the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery on June 3, 1990, the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
"These men, like all soldiers, made painful choices and often paid for their loyalty with their lives. It is up to us to ensure that this ever-changing nation remembers the complexity of the issues they faced, and the incredible conditions under which they performed their duty, as they understood it," Webb said more than 25 years ago.
On Wednesday, Webb struck a similar tone.
"This is a time for us to come together, and to recognize once more that our complex multicultural society is founded on the principle of mutual respect," he wrote.
Webb's caution stands in sharp contrast to the stance of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who on Tuesday calledthe flag "a symbol of our nation's racist past that has no place in our nation's present or future.
"It shouldn't fly there, it shouldn't fly anywhere," Clinton said.
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