Can we put the Confederate Flag issue behind us now? Please? - July 21, 2015

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a liberal. I say this without shame or embarrassment. I was among the many who called for the Confederate Flag (actually the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) to be removed from the State House in South Carolina. I was also living in Alabama in the late 80s and supported the call to remove the Confederate Flag (actually the C.S.A. Naval Battle Flag) from that state house.

These flags are historic, and to many they do represent Southern Pride and State’s Rights, among other things. But to a large share of Americans, they represent slavery, racism, treason, and hate. Do not blame liberals for that, as it wasn’t long after the Civil War ended that hate groups including the KKK adopted the flag for its own hateful purposes. It has also been adopted by Neo-Nazi groups in Germany because flying the Swastika in Germany is illegal.

In a recent discussion, a good friend relayed a mutual friend’s belief that this is a non-issue (tempest in a teapot). White Americans (such as all the participants in this particular discussion), and indeed most Americans of non-African heritage, cannot fully appreciate the loathing many African Americans feel when they go to THEIR State Capital and see a symbol used by racist groups flying on the dome. I imagine it would be similar to seeing a flag from ISIS or Nazi Germany to me. So these flags should be removed from all State Houses and other government buildings. This does not eliminate racism in America. But it is a good first step.

Most liberals are content with removing the flag from government buildings. So any further repercussions or restrictions on displaying or selling this flag are not our fault. If a business chooses not to sell these flags, than that is their decision, which I assume is done for business reasons. Don’t blame the liberals. Walmart is among the many establishments that will no longer sell this flag. The Walton family is hardly considered a bastion of the new American liberalism. If these businesses were “forced” or pressured by their customers to stop selling these flags, well, that my friends is called free enterprise. The business chose to honor their customers’ wishes

However, I do oppose laws that restrict the private sale and/or display of the Confederate Flags (whichever ones are used). The State of Ohio recently passed a law that forbids the sale of Confederate flags at the State Fair. That, in my humble, non-legal opinion, flies in the face of the first amendment. According to the First Amendment, we all have a right to express ourselves in non-threatening ways. If a displaced Southerner living in Ohio wishes to display the “Stars and Bars,” I believe he has the Constitutional right to do so.

-- Just another useless rant.