The War Is Over - So Why The Bitterness?

================================================================

"The fact that it is acceptable to put a Confederate flag on a car bumper and to portray Confederates as brave and gallant defenders of states’ rights rather than as traitors and defenders of slavery is a testament to 150 years of history written by the losers." - Ohio State Professer Steven Conn in a recent piece at History News Network (No, I'll not difnigy his bitterness by providing a link)

This sounds like sour grapes to me. Were it not for the "losers", commemorations both 50 years ago and today would be virtually nonexistent. Were it not for the "losers" supporting advertisers of books and art which focus on the "lost cause" memory of the WBTS, most of Civil War magazines would go out of business overnight. One publisher responded to one of my posts about this issue stating that their magazine welcomed all readers, regardless of perspective. This person sounded a bit worried that I raised the question. They should be worried. What would happen if those to whom Mr. Conn is directing his remarks suddenly lost all interest in the WBTS or decided to boycott all national parks, museums, and Civil War publications? My guess is there would be a bit of a panic. But why the bittern tone in Mr. Conn's remark above? After all, one academic conference recently announced "we" [meaning academic historians] had "won" the narrative war and gleefully announced "victory." Mr. Conn should be celebrating. According to the announcement at the conference, the "losers" have lost again.

But then again, maybe the proclamation of victory was a bit premature.