<< Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 15:37:12 -0700 From: George Holt <georgeholt@earthlink.net> To: SCHORRY-L@rootsweb.com Please, let us stop this bickering about the Civil War and continue going on trying to trace our ancestors, whichever side they fought on. I thought that the function of the SCHORRY message center was something else than a forum for espousing one's ideas about the South or the North. Enough!!>> I have been waiting for someone to say this. Shame on you, George! ...sorry, but not being a southerner and knowing little about this issue, I have considered this exchange educational and informative (albeit oninionated), rather than "bickering"...and extremely relevant to my interest in genealogy. It has given insight into the DAR and also shows how history is related to current day issues. Isn't that what genealogy is all about? What good is piecing together just a bunch of names without an understanding of social and historical background and perspective? It's not all black and white, and I'm grateful for every opportunity to gain insight into the history behind the people, especially where it relates to current events. Names are meaningless by themselves. I want to learn as much as I can; what better way to understand something like why two southern senators are in conflict over something like an old flag??? Why should anyone care? What's the importance of it? The history behind it. It's what 9th grade high school teachers try to instill in their students. Anyone who follows genealogy and closes their mind to the historical significance of things, past and present, is missing a big, important, part of it. So if you read something on the list that doesn't interest you, why not just surf past? Kerry McCarthy Wood Boston