Comments

I hate the comments section of the Internet. It's not just because I've had such woefully bad luck with the comments section of my own blog (as many of you have reported). No, the reason I hate the comments section is because I see the Internet as the accumulation of the entire wealth of mankind's accumulated knowledge. The comments section is the accumulation of our ignorance.

For instance, I've been following the recovery, restoration and investigation of the CSS Hunley since its discovery was announced several years ago. After reading an article about the next phase of the preservation that is just beginning, I (for untold reasons) read the comments section. There were a few decent comments and then I saw it.

The name has been changed to protect the ignorant. 

"Our roads are crumbling, our poor die because they lack health care, our governors idea of well paying jobs for the citizens of our state is a Wal Mart job yet somehow the state can find millions upon millions to preserve a relic of a war that is best forgotten" - Carlton Markus

This is not just the most inane assembly of letters in the history of the English language. I'll not discuss the grammar or even the obvious libero-socialist undertones in the complaint. Let's look at what was just said, in the order of my choosing.

Last things first! Any time there are 650,000 servicemen killed and the civilian deaths reportedly bring the total as high as 2 million, that war should NEVER be forgotten. I know he probably meant that slavery should be left behind us and the poor simpleton was taught that slavery was THE cause of the war and that is not the rabbit hole I'm crawling into tonight. Whew! Slavery is best left in our past. And we must teach our children and grandchildren that it was real and that it was wrong and that we must never go back to those times. But we must never forget. Ever.

Jobs. Nikki Haley is the most visually positive governor in these united States. But besides that, she is a good governor. I wish she was ours. Or at least that ours had her...umm...guts. You don't have to be a South Carolinian to know that historic tourism is a major source of income for the state and many non-Wal-Mart jobs are supported by the tourism industry. I'd venture to say that the historic tourism industry supports more jobs than taking money from working people to pay someone else's medical bills ever would. The Hunley is being analyzed and preserved by a team of scientists and historians that make more money than Wal-Mart workers and pay taxes in South Carolina - the same taxes that pay for roads.

The Hunley operations are also largely supported by a private organization that raises money through donations that are willingly given by people who believe it should be preserved and want to see this effort carried out - unlike the current "health care" law.

As far as the Hunley being some stray relic: This ship was the first submarine to ever sink an enemy ship. Long before German U-Boats hunted the northern waters, before Trident missiles were designed to deliver the apocalypse from the bottom of the sea, and before Marco Ramius, a team of Southern men piled in a doomed contraption and sailed off to fight for what they believed in. If that isn't worthy of being remembered, I'm not sure what is. Then consider that thousands of people came from all over the planet to attend the burial of the crew and you start to see the economic impact of this "relic". 

Then forget the historic significance. The scientific, conservation and preservation efforts alone make the project worthwhile. The possibilities for what might be learned from the research alone are endless.

Our history is important. It tells us who we are and where we came from. Its our identity. And when people care about it they not only become better citizens, they create jobs and stimulate the economy. They make things like health care and roads possible. Historic tourism is an economic force that we often let political correctness dampen. Let's unleash this economic force in our communities and our states. Don't let ignorance stall it.