Celebrate Secession?

The New York Times has an article today on plans in South Carolina to party and celebrate the secession of the southern states that started the Civil War. Many comments address the inappropriateness of this - here is mine:

As a nation we should mark the start of the Civil War and the major events that occurred during it, but there is little to celebrate. The reason for secession was the south's belief that it should be able to maintain slavery - "states rights'' was simply a euphemism for continuing to base a society on the cruel bondage of others. It is reprehensible to celebrate secession, and I can't see any interpretation other than that some South Carolinians of 2010 share the views of their ancestors. Instead of having a party, I would prefer if they were hosting a discussion of alternative paths that the south could have taken to balance moral and financial needs.

The Civil War was the bloodiest event in our history, and while there was supposed glory in winning various battles, the deaths of more than 600,000 young men, the destruction of the south, and the ultimate assassination of Lincoln were monumental losses to our nation. The only thing to celebrate about the Civil War is that we finally corrected the most grievous error of our Constitution - slavery.