I have often found that the creditiablity issue often leads to elitism within origanizations in which some people think that they are better than others.

That elitism is what turns me off with the Military Order of the Stars and Bars. A parallel origanization which only allows the members to be decendants of Officers and Politicians. They always seem to give me the impression that they are somehow better that the regular old SCV members. The same with the daughters.

Our main goal, I believe, is and should be preservation of heritage, not pedigrees. As Paul said I am a Jew of the Jews with Grandfathers from South Carolina who fought with Robert E Lee for the entire four years. That doesn't make me a better SCV member than anyone one else. And my genealogy doesn't make my desire to preserve my heritage any greater than those who fought somewhere else under other circumstances.

And for that matter of fact why does membership in a preservation orgination have to be limited to only those who had an ancestor in the original fight? 60 to 70% of todays population in the United States can not trace their ancestory, loose or otherwise, to an veteran of either side in that war.