I went to a Civil War debate this weekend, and a beautiful thing happened.  One moment we were heatedly debating, in first person as our respective historic personas, the legality and constitutionality of secession, and the next moment the event had turned into a patriotic rally inspiring people to read the Constitution, become activists on their own behalf, and know/exercise their rights as free Americans to direct our governments to comply with the law of the land by use of the ballot box.

The event was "A Gathering of Eagles" in Winchester, VA, about which I have written in this space before.  Gathered in one spot were an unprecedented collection of very skilled and learned Civil War living historians, portraying Presidents Lincoln and Davis, and a bevy of Union and Confederate generals.  The discourse was at such a high level that any professional historian would have rightly been impressed - these were not just a group of overgrown boys dressing up and playing soldier, but serious living historians paying homage to the men and women who brought this country though its most trying time by living out their thoughts, feelings, and personas for the benefit of modern-day students of history.

The great lesson of the entire weekend was that the War Between the States was not a simplistic thing as most of our children are taught these days, but rather was a multi-issue economic, political, and social conflict which came to a tragic head in war between strong-willed factions of American society.  The lesson was also that many of the same issues, despite being clothed in different factual contexts, continue to this very day in the way American society and government conduct themselves.  We learned that as Americans we cannot afford to sit back and let less than 15% of our citizens continue to make the decisions for all of us, but that we need to get off our collective duffs and call our politicians (for there are few, if any, statesmen in this world) to task for their misfeasance and malfeasance in office.

It was indeed an honor and a pleasure to be involved in this event.  I have read and studied the War Between the States for most of my natural life, yet my experiences with "Lee's Lieutenants" and most particularly through preparation and presentation of "A Gathering of Eagles" have taken my level of understanding and study far beyond anything I have ever read or been taught in the past.  I understand more about the process through which America was forged in forming the Constitution, and steeled through the tragedy of the Civil War, than I had ever thought possible.  And yet, my learning continues unabated, which is a very exciting experience for me as I cross into my sixth decade.  To continue to learn is to be alive in the most important sense of the word.   I am humbly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this group, and to participate in its mission to educate the public about so significant a period on our collective history.  God willing, I have no higher ambition than to continue to be a part of this endeavour so long as I am capable of doing so.