How about a story about the post-Civil War life of Robert E. Lee? Maybe we could find some reason why this treasonous general was so idolized by both the North and South following the war. If our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything, it's that winning the peace can be a lot harder than winning a war ("Rename Robert E. Lee Park," June 23).
General Lee's life was gray. He fought against the United States, but once defeated, accepted it and worked toward peace and reconciliation. He became an icon after the Civil War but not a demagogue. Why didn't the South continue with extended insurgency campaign against the North? Could America have become one giant Northern Ireland?
Robert E. Lee is too complicated for this generation and the one-dimensional journalists who serve it. He had no Oprah couch to sit on or rehab to enter to get national forgiveness. What he did have was the rest of his life — maybe that would be worth exploring.
Scott Jones, Towson