There's been a lot of tension in the United States in recent years regarding the Confederacy. From flags, to monuments, to gatherings, there have been increased uproars and demands to silence this portion of U.S. history. So I'm writing this article to throw in my two cents and share my (probably unpopular) opinion.

I support Confederate monuments in the United States.

Now before y'all call the NAACP to file a lawsuit against me, (which is what they're doing in St. Louis, and NC by the way) hear me out.

I understand that the Confederacy is still a sore spot in conversation for many people. As well it should be. But just because something is difficult to talk about, doesn't mean we bury it and hope it goes away.

It seems like no matter how many times we hear this in our history classes, no one can seem to wrap their heads around the fact that the Civil War (or The War of Northern Aggression, I see you southern states!) was not about slavery. The two main catalysts of The Civil War were states rights and political/economic freedom.

In fact, one of the advantages the Union had over the Confederacy was that they were able to block their sea ports which brought the Confederate economy to a screeching halt, eventually forcing them to surrender.

Now don't get me wrong, slavery clearly played an incredibly influential part in the division of our nation. I am eternally grateful that the Union "won" the war and that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, effectively freeing the slaves in the U.S. and for the first time acknowledging them as people rather than property.

Now, you're probably wondering why I put "won" in quotations. It is because while yes, technically the Union won in terms of economy, troops, and the elimination of slavery, nobody truly came out of this war a winner. Three million people fought in this war and 600,000 were slain. Both sides suffered irreparable losses during the bloodiest war in our nation's history.

So what does any of this have to do with salvaging Confederate monuments in the U.S.? Everything!

In 1914, The Daughters of the Confederacy placed a monument in reverence to the Confederate troops who served and died in Forest Park in my hometown of St. Louis, MO. At the time, The Civil War was still relatively fresh, and these women likely had family members who fought and possibly died in our nation's most gruesome war to date. There has been talk for years about having it removed, but still, it has stood strong in the midst of our great city.

Now, a group of citizens has enlisted the help of the NAACP to have it torn down. Big mistake!

These monuments were not placed in our nation in order to try and convince us to start up the slave trade again. The two states getting the most attention right now, MO and NC, were Confederate states! We tend to forget that, right or wrong, the South got caught in this terrible war as well as the North. We glorify Ulysses S. Grant but spit on the memory of General Robert E. Lee. This needs to end now.

We are so quick to demonize these people because they believed differently than we do. But think about it. They believed. They honestly, in their hearts, believed in a cause greater than themselves. The believed so deeply that they were willing to risk their lives, and in many cases, offer the ultimate sacrifice, to prove it.

We like to forget how much hell the South went through in the course of the war. Cities were burned, young boys killed, and properties pillaged. Post-war reconstruction took decades to complete. Have you ever seen the burning of Atlanta scene in "Gone with the Wind?" Yeah, that actually happened...

So why should these monuments remain a part of our nation? Because they are honoring people who lost their lives fighting for their nation. True, the Confederacy was considered separate of the U.S. during those years, but all the same, they were soldiers, and they deserve respect. Those soldiers were fathers, brothers, sons... When they didn't return from war, their families grieved just as much as families of Union soldiers. They were people, human beings, and they deserve our respect.

As a history major, I do not support slavery, I do not support the KKK, and I do not support white supremacy. I support truth. If we, as a nation, choose to sweep this part of our history under the rug, we are doing future generations an incredible disservice. We are saying it's ok to forget the aspects of our history that make us uncomfortable. I hate to break it to y'all, but there is an awful lot of U.S. history that does and should make us uncomfortable. And that is even more of a reason to talk about it and remember it. We should remember how it feels to look back on those events because those emotions translate from one human being to another. We need to understand why these events make us uncomfortable, so we never partake in them again.

And above all, we should honor and respect those who fought and died in our country. Period.

So America?

Leave the damn monuments alone.