That would be the Retail Overlord’s plan to build a new store on the Wilderness battlefield in Orange County. It’s a spot where 5,000 people died during the Civil War, and if the Overlord has its way, you will soon be able to buy indoor putting greens, China-sewn underwear, and gratuitously packaged cosmetics on that very ground.
Civil War re-enactors, some of whom may—ironically—shop at Wal-Mart.
I found out about this because I’m on the e-mail list of the Piedmont Environmental Council. The way the PEC marries interests in open-space preservation and historical preservation is one answer to the question of why the Green Scene blog is worried about a Civil War battlefield. First of all, it has to do with thrift. Gobbling up limited gas by driving needlessly is not really any different than gobbling limited historical space by building needlessly. And the simple protest that development-wary residents often mount ("Do we really need another store?") is no less valid for being rarely effective.
Second, it has to do with respect. If we can’t even preserve an important battlefield, it doesn’t speak well for our ability to preserve historic spots of a less dramatic nature: farmland, woods and waterways. For Wal-Mart to choose this site is both dumb and insulting.
Protests are underway in Orange, and because of the size of the proposed building, it’ll have to go through a public hearing process even though the land (mind-bendingly) is zoned commercial. It’s my feeling that every American, whether you live in Orange or not, has the right to comment on this. So comment! What do you think? Post it here, and then let Orange County officials hear it.
