Confederate Flag Controversy
Confederate Flag Day is celebrated yearly amid a myriad of controversy and rightfully so. While it was originally established as a day to honor the condefederate soldiers who fought and lost their lives in battle, the larger representation and modern day symbol of this Civil War relic is what fuels the fire of this issue.
While our country has many historical wars that have molded it into what it is today, the Civil War is perhaps the one war that has had the greatest impact. It was a war that was fought for equal rights and for humanity. It was fought so that no man, regardless of his skin color, know suppression or bondage. It was a war fought to uphold the backbone of the Declaration of Independence. Our founding fathers stated that all men were created equal and should be treated as such. If it were not for the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, the ownership and mistreatment of African Americans may have lived on for an indefinite period of time.
The Confederate Flag was born out of conflict. It arose from the ashes of secession of the confderate states who were fighting to keep slavery alive and expand it where it didn't already exist. Some will argue that it was a matter of southern pride, it was about keeping a way of life in place that was doing no harm to those in the north. But the fact is that the members of the confederacy had no concern about tearing apart our nation. They not only treated their slaves no better than their livestock, but their American pride had dissipated and southern pride took hold. This was the basis of the Confederate Flag and it was to represent their new nation which was founded on these beliefs.
While many in the south today display the Confederate Flag as a symbol of their deep rooted southern pride rather than as a sign of slavery, they also have a saying. "American by birth, Southern by the grace of God." You have to wonder why 133 years after the end of the Civil War, so many still feel they are a separate entity. Are we not all Americans?
The real controversy on this subject is due to the fact that there are many racist groups who use the Confederate Flag as an emblem for what they believe in. They are the White Supremacist groups like the Nazi Skin Heads, the Ku Klux Klan members, and the Arayan Nation. If the flag does not represent slavery, then why do these people display it to have their voices heard? As much as we would all like to live in our happy little bubble, we must realize that racism is still very real and that these groups are as alive today as they were 200 years ago. For them, the Confederate Flag empowers them to do the job they feel they have the right to do; punish a man for he color of his skin.
The Confederate Flag is also flown proudly at hate rallies and is flown proudly above the Capitol in South Carolina. If it is truly a harmless representation of southern pride, then why do so many use it for reasons that we as a country have fought so hard for? It goes against the many years of fighting for equal rights and fighting for an end to racism.
On April 9, 1865 the Civil War ended with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. This surrender occured peacefully at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia with both men holding their heads high. Those who live in the south can still hold their heads high today, for they live in a country that provides them their freedom. As for the Confederate Flag? It has already been surrendered; let's leave it in our nation's history rather than our front yards.
