Title
Dusting Off the Old Heroes of the Republic: The Newest Civil Rights Movement in Washington, D.C.
Class Year
2017
Document Type
Blog Post
Publication Date
Spring 2-22-2017
Department 1
Civil War Institute
Abstract
When I decided to attend the Women’s March on Washington this past January, I tried desperately to keep the Civil War out of my mind. I didn’t want to court disaster. Whatever their politics, anyone who knows anything about the Civil War can hear the familiar wails of a nation groaning under the weight of paralyzing political factionalism, deep sectional divides, and a potential constitutional crisis—in the works long before the Drumpf presidency—surrounding the proper limit and application of executive power in our democracy, amongst other threats. But I just couldn’t allow myself to envision the worst. It made me physically sick to have to wonder, honestly, whether my home was on the verge of throwing away the sacrifices of millions of selfless patriots over the years simply because we could no longer see our neighbors, our family members, as human. Because we had so lost faith in the “unfinished work” that we would surrender liberty for safety, virtue for ambition, and love for power. That we would think ourselves so vulnerable, so small, that we would betray our friends and forsake the world. That we would stop being leaders because the job was no longer easy.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
LaRoche, Matthew D., "Dusting Off the Old Heroes of the Republic: The Newest Civil Rights Movement in Washington, D.C." (2017). The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History. 249.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/compiler/249
Comments
This blog post originally appeared in The Gettysburg Compiler and was created by students at Gettysburg College.