Re: MOC
From: VAPROTO@aol.com
To: southbaird@aol.com
Dear Mr. Moffatt,
I agree wholeheartedly with you and at the time of the conflict which caused the article sent to you, I had suggested that families that had donated their treasures should demand their return because the institution was no longer true to the founding principles which had, of course, precipitated the donations in the first place. I don’t suppose anything came from that however.
I don’t know if sufficient members can be brought into the museum to "overthrow" the current regime. Somehow, I doubt it. These insitutions tend to be very self-protecting and create bars to any change in leadership. I had suggested that some legal specialists look and see if there was any way that the founding principles of the museum could be reinstated and anyone who departed from them removed from a leadership role but nothing came of that suggestion either.
As for "donating" items to various private or public organizations: one would need some legal advice as to how to do such a thing in a way that would make it possible to retrieve the item(s) if what you have mentioned came to pass (Gov. Obama). Perhaps some sort of arrangement involving a "loan" rather than a "donation" would prevent misuse of these irreplaceable treasurers, I don’t know. However, in the end, even that will not suffice if the Southern people are unwilling to protect and cherish their past. Sooner or later, these treasures are going to fall into the hands of people who are either apathetic or antipathetic to Southern history and heritage whether they belong to the organization or the descendants of those who loaned them out.
In the end, it isn’t the material relic that needs to be protected. Remember, such relics from the distant past have come down to us today so it is possible to protect material items. However, the spirit of the people connected with those items is, for the most part, long gone and so they are nothing more than a curiosity. The physical relics of Southern history and heritage should certainly be protected, but even of greater importance is protecting the memory of that heritage and that can only be done through living human beings. I do believe that we should protect (y)our symbols and heroes, but most of all you need to work with all your heart, soul and mind to protect your memory for without that, relics are mere objects without meaning.
Deo Vindice
Valerie
