Chickamauga

I don't know what it is but there's something about standing in the middle of a national battlefield which makes me feel quite ill -- probably because Chickamauga is dedicated to the American Civil War. Anytime I think about a war which pits brother against brother (figuratively and literally), it makes me think of how differences can lead to such horrible consequences -- I hope it will never come to that in this country again but there are so many people who feel that they are the only ones who are correct and don't hesitate to point out (discourteously and patronizingly) how ignorant and wrong everyone else must be that sometimes I wonder how much it would take, nowadays, for people to stand up and say "no more".

Visiting Chickamauga National Battlefield was such a moving and heartbreaking experience -- and these are the words which struck me as we wandered over acres and acres of history and monuments to the fallen:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it...