Starjewel

Oh well. The old sack of bones kicked it. Retirement really is an invitation to death.

I didn't agree with his politics either, in fact many of his positions I vehemently oppose. However it disturbs me to see so many people blogging the obit and complaining that the obit writers aren't making his segregationist stance front and center in favor of pointing out a more positive view of the man. I didn't know him, but I believe we should always speak well of the dead. And if Strom should be remembered for anything positive it should be that he was on the beach in Normandy when it counted. So far you are the only blogger I have seen post it and not say anything insensitive. Thank you .

See this article for some nice things about him.

What most people don't understand is his segretion stance was not due to being racist, i dunno if he was or not. He thought it was moving too fast.. which it did, and why there was probably a lot of resentment down in the south. Rather than gradually change things so people get used to it, they changed everthing extremely quickly.. That is what he was against, he knew the people he REPRESENTED, that was his job. Most people forget that as a congress man or woman you are supposed to represent your people, not your own views...

You've raised a good point, Mr. Ed.

Ed -

Strom’s first split from the national Democrat’s was to run against Harry S Truman for President, who had desegregated the military after the Second World War. That was the major platform of the DixiCrat party.

His other claim to the history books, having the longest filibuster in the Senate, was an attempt to stop passage of an early version of the Civil Rights Voting Act. The main purpose of the Act was to ensure the rights of Blacks to VOTE! A right they were granted under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. To state that “he knew the people he REPRESENTED” is ignoring the fact the he was not representing the interests of the majority of the population in his state, because he was fighting to keep them from having their Constitutional rights to vote for him or anyone else.

Strom later said he regretted the fact that he would be remembered for these actions. He acknowledged himself that they were wrong. To sugarcoat his actions as doing the wishes of his constituents does not justify the actions he later condemned. To quote from Cool Hand Luke, “Calling it your job doesn’t make it right.”

I agree that in his death we should not tear him down. We should remember a man who learned from his mistakes and moved to repair the damage of those mistakes. To many in his generation are unwilling to admit their past mistakes, even those on a grand scale as Strom. That he could change shows the content of his character. That is something to analyze and admire in any person. To try to justify those decisions vilifies him even more than those who attack him for those decisions.