off topic

I don’t normally deal with these sorts of issues on this blog, but here it is.  You may recall that there was some controversy recently over President Obama’s decision to send a wreath to the Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.  Huffington Post a couple of days ago carried the address made at the wreath-laying ceremony by Ron Maxwell, director of Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, among others.  It is a moving tribute to, among others, Moses Ezekiel, sculptor of the monument.  It’s also a really nice reminder that there is no virtue, to paraphrase Eugene Genovese, in spitting on the graves of one’s ancestors.  Go read the whole thing.