Our Honored Confederate Generals

President Trump has been adamant in his opposition to renaming military installations carrying the names of generals of the Confederate States of America. He justified the continued memorialization of these traitors to the American Republic via Twitter:

It has been suggested that we should rename as many as 10 of our Legendary Military Bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc. These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom. The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations. Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!

As usual, our president is tone-deaf and obsessed with displaying his manhood.

Bases were named after Confederate generals as a sop to the South. More than a century and a half after the conclusion of the Civil War, however, it is time to celebrate the Union and to consign the Confederacy and its champions to the graveyard of morally corrupt ideas. If a base is renamed, its history, however storied, does not disappear, but only its association with the cause of slavery

Some will assert that base names don’t matter. I freely admit that, during my brief Army career, it never occurred to me to ask after whom the bases to which I was assigned were named. Having recently become an issue brought to light through the continuing racism revealed in police murders of black citizens, racism clearly not obliterated by Union victory in the Civil War, the celebration of military traitors can no longer be ignored. Among the bases named for those who led troops against the United States are some very substantial installations. The bases are:

• Fort Hood, Texas, named for General John Bell Hood
• Fort Lee, Virginia, named for General Robert E. Lee
• Fort Bragg, North Carolina, named for General Braxton Bragg
• Fort A.P. Hill, named for Lieutenant General A.P. Hill
• Fort Pickett, Virginia, named for the hapless Major General George Pickett
• Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, named for General P.G.T. Beauregard
• Fort Gordon, Georgia, named for Major General John Brown Gordon
• Fort Polk, Louisiana, named for Major General Leonidas Polk, a former Episcopal bishop
• Fort Rucker, Alabama, named for General Edmund Rucker
• Fort Benning, Georgia, named for Brigadier General Henry L. Benning

Naming installations after enemies of the nation is ridiculous on its face. Apparently, it seemed to make sense at one time. If we are to accept this self-flagellatory process, why stop at celebrating Confederate generals? Here is a short list of names for President Trump to consider:

• Fort Benedict Arnold
• Fort Aaron Burr
• Port Aldrish Ames
• Julius & Ethel Rosenberg National Laboratory
• Camp John Brown (admittedly somewhat ambiguous)

Of course, the president will neither use these names nor assent to changing the names of bases named for Confederate generals. The military or Congress may do the job for him, if not soon, then once a new president is in office. Perhaps a promise to do so should be in the Democratic platform this year.