The rumors of Lee believing that slavery was evil are discussed in this article, but the TL;DR is that Lee believed slaves were better off in the US than in Africa and eventually when white people had "trained them up" they could be set free. And he considered that line of thinking "benevolent."
Sadly we see that sort of thinking in current political thought to this day. The ruling elite of both old parties believe that the people cannot be trusted with absolute freedom. There is a belief that the guiding hand of government is better for society because of people's inability to make wise decisions for themselves.
As a society we must STOP REPEATING SLAVE OWNERS RHETORIC. All people deserve as much freedom in their lives as they desire. It was wrong in 1856 for Lee to say that slaves could not be trusted with freedom. It's just as wrong to say that about the middle class today.
People should not be able to vote to override your bodily autonomy without your consent. We have been training generations that all they have to do is get a political majority and they can outlaw abortion. And that's wrong. No vote should allow the government to put something in or take something out of my body. No vote should prevent me from putting something in or taking something out of my body.