Organizational Priorities

[K Bartsch]

Folks,
I rec'd this electronically last night. After reading it, especially, the last paragraph, it occurred to me that those dollars would be better spent to preserve hallowed ground threatened by bulldozers. Please, no flames, just dialogue. Might it be possible to bring the national SCV into the ranks of heritage organizations committed to the preservation of Civil War sites and therefore willing to put preservation near or at the top of its organizational priorities? That said, I know there are many local SCV camps who have been and are now engaged in important preservation efforts. Let's confine discussion to the national organization since it controls the organizational purse-strings and has significant financial assets.

/////////////////////////////////////////////
NATIONAL SCV PRESS RELEASE


NATIONAL SCV CONVENTION
TEXAN ELECTED COMMANDER

VOWS RESTORATION OF PLAQUES


Denne Sweeney of DALLAS, TEXAS, was overwhelmingly elected to the office of Commander-in-Chief of the International Sons of Confederate Veterans at the 109th Annual Convention of the Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting in Dalton, Georgia, on July 31, 2004. Mr. Sweeney, a retired computer engineer, is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Vietnam veteran.

Mr. Sweeney gained state and national recognition as the person who instituted the civil lawsuit against the State of Texas for removing the Confederate plaques from the Texas Supreme Court Building. Sweeney felt that even if this put him at financial risk, it would be worthwhile to prevent the destruction of the plaques after their removal from the Supreme Court Building. Since the initiation of the suit, an immense amount of attention has been focused on the removal at both state and national levels. Due to the action of Mr. Sweeney, the Texas Sons of Confederate Veterans and the public outcry from thousands of concerned citizens, the REPUBLICAN PARTY has made the return of the plaques to the Supreme Court Building a key part of their PLATFORM.

Mr. Sweeney has stated “the total resources of the Sons of Confederate Veterans as a national organization will be utilized to bring about the restoration of the Confederate plaques to their rightful place in the Supreme Court Building”.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT BRAG BOWLING AT 804.359.0382 OR 804.389.3620.

Brag Bowling

SCV National Press Officer
Columbia, Tennessee
[END]

Cordially,

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Organizational Priorities

Keith:

I don't think that this will work well at national, regional, or in many cases, state level in light of the current internal strife within the SCV. The folks who present themselves as the movers and shakers within the organization have much different goals -- for example as passed by resolution at the same convention last week, the establishment and protection of its members as "Confederate Southern Americans" and the Confederate battle flag as a "Christian and cultural emblem," coupled with the investigation and subsequent expose' of the NAACP and Southern Poverty Law Center as racist and political organizations in violation of their 501(c)(3) non-profit status (another of last week's resolutions). The monkeys are currently running the zoo and pursuing their own agendas.

Ironically, they say that we reenactors are too wrapped up in the minutiae of trying to protect real estate/battlefields and the stitches per inch in infantry jackets to realize that the NAACP and liberal press are eliminating "Southern heritage and culture" left and right. Overall, it's a sad state of affairs.

Here's what one of the "movers and shakers had to say this morning about the press release you cited:

Y'all:

Things like this make me proud to be a member! What a wonderful use of SCV funds.

I recall the first GEC meeting I attended at Elm Springs. I was horrified to see vote after vote to spend 500 here, a thousand there on all kind of "stone polishing" matters but nothing to really fight the enemy. It is so refreshing to
now see our hard earned money sticking it in the eye of those who would demean our heritage. In my opinion, the Texas plaque situation and the Virginia situation (can't get Confederate History Month declaration) are the biggest things we have to fight right now. We should be pushing forward hard on those matters.

To Denne: Congratulations. I know that the enemy was NOT PLEASED with your election. Y'all go get 'um!

The best hope at this point is to try and work with the local camps on local projects...there is currently a good record of success with this.

Tom

[dusty27]

Re: Organizational Priorities

Keith,

Not a member (don't qualify) but this situation sounds alot like re-enacting as a whole. The national group is the one everyone knows about (mainstream) and bases their opinions on that group's actions, but it is the little, local groups (authentics/living historians) that are doing all the GOOD work with real preservation efforts and teaching.

[flattop32355]

Re: Organizational Priorities

Keith,
The national group is the one everyone knows about (mainstream) and bases their opinions on that group's actions, but it is the little, local groups (authentics/living historians) that are doing all the GOOD work with real preservation efforts and teaching.

What happened to the "No flames, please, just dialogue.", idea?
Let's keep on topic.

[SCTiger]

Re: Organizational Priorities

Keith:

After many offline discussions I thinks it's very clear that the SCV wants to promote politics over preservation. It's ironic that if it wasn't for the battlefield, museums and records, there wouldn't be a "heritage" for the public. All we would have is memories. The SCV wants to fight the liberal media and other special interst groups on current political and social issues, i.e. monuments, flags, the re-naming of streets and bulidings, etc. Their current radical tactics play into the hand of their enemies, although they don't see this.

I don't want to lose Confederate memorials, plaques, etc. I just disagree with how the SCV is approaching the problem. So the SCV has moved into the fringe political arena and has left the real heritage preservation to everyone else. I believe any effort to appeal to the SCV for preservation support, would be seen as "tombstone" polishing or "old grannie" activities as stated. This is unfortunate and is just so much proof of how out-of-touch with the WBTS/ACW communiuty the national leadership have become.

They are free to pursue their politcal agenda, it just doesn't represent the majority of living historians or the unifying goal of battlefield preservation.

[K Bartsch]

Re: Organizational Priorities

All,
Is it fair then to state that our consensus here is the national-level SCV leadership is primarily motivated to fight what they perceive as modern attacks on Confederate symbols and images? Further, that the national organization, as distinct from many of the local camps, could not be persuaded to devote its considerable financial resources to save the battlefields where the original bearers of these same images fought and died?

Cordially,

[DougCooper]

Re: Organizational Priorities

Keith - well said - exactly how I see it. The SCV is fast becoming a reactionary, useless organization if the current trend of cozying up to racists and neo-cons continues. Am beginning to wonder if the SCV and NAACP need each other as boogeymen to survive in a changed world.

The local SCV camps must be extremely frustrated. Some of them work very hard to promote preservation only to see their credibility trashed by idiots at the national level.

All,
Is it fair then to state that our consensus here is the national-level SCV leadership is primarily motivated to fight what they perceive as modern attacks on Confederate symbols and images? Further, that the national organization, as distinct from many of the local camps, could not be persuaded to devote its considerable financial resources to save the battlefields where the original bearers of these same images fought and died?

Cordially,