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Untitled #5 Robert E Lee
The purpose of this project is for me as a woodworker, to use woodworking to express "art"; similar to my previous untitled series 1 - 4, they were subjects of divided American topics. Number 5 is a recent division- Robert E. Lee

Why? Because my concern is someday, even when I am gone, that a government may want to remove the Viet Nam War memorial, a war in which I was drafted into and 58,000 Americans, of my generation died.

Material: Maple; CNC carved with a 30 degree Amana tool bit; Finish 3 coats matte lacquer and Sculpt Noveau Brown wax. Software- Vetric Aspire; General Lee's design from clip art.

Gallery

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What is being done in the name of political correctness is a crime.

Pretty soon the American flag will not be allowed at al to appease the "liberals"!
 

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General Lee has been reckoned, by those who know about such things, the best soldier this country ever produced. But, not to debate him as good or bad, that's pretty tough. As a piece of artwork, it's escellent. It's an accurate depiction of a classic image of him.
You chose to go with simplicity and it is wonderful in that it calls attention to only what is needed to immediately and totally comprehend what one is looking at.

But, I cannot let this go with out SOME commenton the deviciveness. I'll try to be brief and believe me, I want to shout it to the heavens but, yes, this is not the place for this.

There is a growing INtolerance in this country against any who do not agree with the narrow views of a loud minority and the apathy of a great many. And we who disagree are called intolerant.
But Lee is perhaps the most recognizable figure of the late War Between the States. The thing is, we should recognize that those who marched in "gray" were our ancestors and relatives to many. What those men accomplished in arms against odds that would make most people quake in their shoes is something that ALL Americans should cherish and respect. By way of comparison. Do any despoil and condemn that most excellent soldier Erwin Rommel? Hardly. he and his the accomplishments of his Afrika Korps are universally respected, yet, he and they served that Monster, Hitler.
The Confederate soldier did not fight to keep the ************************* enslaved any more than Lincoln waged war to free them. A stand up comparison between Lee and Lincoln should make most Americans wonder just who really should be sitting on that Monument in Washington. As to why the Confederate soldier fought, one taken POW summed it up thus in all simplicity to his captor's query of just that subject. His reply? "Because you're down here."
In closing, let me say that there's no unity for this nation by condeming people for their religious beliefs and tearing down the symbols of its heritage. We need to study and know our history, not try to erace it.
The South is condemned for seceding and because a president said they couldn't. Very cut and dried it would seem. Yet, no one condemns New england for TRYING to secede and no one remarks that the president of that time made no move to stop them and indeed, though he had no desire to see it happen, he stood by THEIR right to do so. Now, which of those president's knew more about the Constitution; Abraham Lincoln, or Thomas Jefferson? Lincoln made war in it's name and ignored it whenever it got in his way and Jefferson stood by the rights it was meant to protect even though he would have hated to see the move to secede succeed.
Just some 'food for thought.'
 

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I cannot fault your woodworking skills and I will gladly defend your right to express yourself artistically - but as the holder of a Master's Degree in History I must weigh in with what I have learned.

1. If we do not remember our history and the lessons learned in hard fought battles we will end up making the same mistakes. This is a fact and I see it happening every day - not just in comparisons to WWII or the Civil War, but in the far older history of Ancient Greece and Rome.

2.Never judge the Past by the standards of the Present. Our conditions are different, we have the benefit of their experiences to help us make better decisions. We will still make mistakes that future generations will learn from.

3. Everyone in the USA has a right to be heard, whether we agree with their words or not, it is their right to speak freely. We also have the right to not listen to their words. We do not have the right to silence them through violence or intimidation.

Thank you for posting, I wish you well on your exploration of Divided America topics.
 

· In Loving Memory
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You have done a beautiful job on this plaque. It's a very good likeness of General Robert E. Lee and I believe I have seen this potrait of Lee in one of my history books. Nice work!

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
 

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As this project is ending; I wish to thank you for the comments. As an artist, I did get the responses, which I proudly admit I share with the above. On the other hand, I would have thought that there would be more veterans who do not want our military statues removed; Oh well
Again, thank you
 

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wait.. are you back? i thought you left?
 

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He was a traitor.

-Madts.
 

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Nice job and congratulations on your 'Daily Top 3' award.
 

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Great work! That's my favorite Lee pic.

As a veteran (25 years, Air Force, retired), I say this:

1. I served to support and defend the Constitution and to ensure the rights of every American including freedom of speech.

2. To madts: Every single one of our Founders was a traitor. Robert E. Lee was a man of honor and, at the time, he did what he thought was right.

3. Confederate soldiers are also U.S. veterans. The U.S. government recognized Confederate veterans as equivalent to Union vets via the Congressional Act of 1900, signed June 6, 1903, the Congressional Act of 1906, by the 17th Congress in February 1929 and U.S. Public Law 85-425, Section 410, of May 1958. To tear down monuments of Confederate soldiers is to tear down monuments of U.S. veterans. If you want to tear them down, first get Congress to enact a new law revoking their current status.

But why stop there? In Baltimore, a statue of Columbus was vandalized. Perhaps we should insist that the pyramids should be torn down since they were erected using slave labor. Perhaps we should insist that every Japanese company who illegally used POWs to work in their factories should be forfeit-and don't forget the German companies who build war machines for the Nazis. Where will it end? Don't be a fool, learn from history so that you don't repeat it.

How far back do you go to appease an unappeasable crowd? Only 10-15% of confederate citizens owned slaves, meaning the vast majority of those fighting did not own slaves and were not fighting to keep them. Also, another inconvenient truth, according to the 1830 census there were 3,775 free blacks who owned 12,740 black slaves. What about that fact?

The only good I can see coming out of this lunacy is that it will further convince undecided/independent/libertarian voters to not reward a party that has this many radicals in it. Is it any wonder why democrats have lost elections since 2010 (except for Obama's re-election).
 

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TT as the artist; I am moved… and may I state "Art" through woodworking… more to come
 

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TT as the artist; I am moved… and may I state "Art" through woodworking… more to come

- Desert_Woodworker
I look forward to more of your work.
 

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He was a traitor.
-Madts.
- madts
Madts…. we love you brother, but I suggest you let us Americans deal with our own dirty laundry.

Traitor to who?

The new incarnation of a federal government that for the first time ever was exerting (arguably in violation of the constitution) authority over sovereign states?

Or Virginia, the sovereign state of his birth, which he was morally sworn to defend from an invading enemy.

And if he was a traitor to the federal government, why pray tell, was he not tried for treason before the highest court in the land? Could it be because the federal government feared that he would be acquitted? This would have been a damning verdict for the legality of the civil war. I would suggest that the feds knew vary well that they were on very shaky ground, both morally and legally.

Let's put it in an EU context. Should the federal Spanish government wage war on Catalonia and invade it militarily? If they do so, would the Catalonians be justified in defending their homeland? If four years later there are 620,000 Spaniards from both sides dead, many still laying dead in the field, how would European society view the Spanish federal government? Would they not be likened to Franco?

All this written by a northerner who has blood relatives who died fighting for the north and who thinks slavery was a huge injustice that had to be remedied. But who also knows that history is messy and seldom fits into our tidy moral rear view mirror.
 

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You offend my sensitive sensibilities sir. Now apologize.
 

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DW - this project is very deep.

I live in Fla. in Lee county. That picture is in our town hall.

Thanks for posting
 
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