One lost cause thaT should stay lost

I heard an interview recently on NPR about a new film about the life of Abraham Lincoln – a nuanced view that updates our image of Lincoln as “The Great Emancipator.” The film paints a more accurate picture that gives more credit to the enslaved people who influenced Lincoln’s thinking and helped him see that emancipation was the only acceptable idea among the ones he was considering.

That got me thinking about the one lost cause that I think we can all agree deserves to stay lost – the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.

Gary Chambers, a Black man running for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana, has his own idea of what the South rising again ought to look like. His vision includes eliminating the vestiges of the Confederacy that remain, such as gerrymandered voting districts and structurally racist laws that make it harder to vote. It's an inclusive vision I share. For more information, check out this video.

Some suggested, early on, that I avoid using even the generic term lost cause, because of possible confusion with the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. But I refuse to let a group of slave owners from the 1800s keep me from using useful words. If anything, I use Champions of the Lost Causes to lift up, among others, those who champion Civil Rights and human rights! Indeed, the Civil Rights Movement is a collection of causes that have a common denominator of liberating intent!

Civil Rights Champions serve as a great example of what can liberate all of us from a false idea – that we can’t make a difference in this world. Of course we can! They have proven it for us!

The lost causes aren't lost, it turns out, because we found them! Or you’ll find yours soon!