Editor, The Herald:

The Confederate soldier is an American soldier, so recognized by multiple U.S. Congresses, multiple U.S. presidents and, more important, by their Union counterparts. The vandalized Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Richmond is a monument to “American” soldiers.

Those of us with a sense of history understand that what we’re seeing is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany. A tragic incident occurs. It is blamed on a minority element of the country that can be vilified, alienated, isolated and attacked. Targeted first are their cultural monuments (i.e.: synagogues in Germany) and their cultural symbols. Irresponsible politicians start the feeding frenzy, aided and abetted by media ideologues who incite the public, and this leads to vandalism and violence by uneducated and undisciplined thugs.

It appears the killer of the innocents in Charleston is getting what he wanted, aided and abetted by politicians and media zealots.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned a society where all would be judged by the content of their individual character and have a seat at the table of brotherhood — one that included the grandsons of both former slaves and former slave owners. Dr. King died for that vision.  How soon we forget.

Think about it.

Greg Eanes

Retired U.S. Air Force colonel

Crewe