Dear Editor:
On July 12 Larry Russell Johnson's letter was published on the Confederate flag flap. (Pun intended.) Mr. Schilling responded in a piece published on July 20. Also in that edition was a piece written by Michelle Brooks of the News Tribune concerning Darrell Maples, a local member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV).
First point, the Civil War was waged over slavery. This isn't really debatable, folks. The CSA Constitution said so. Second point. Lincoln did not invade the South in order to free the slaves. His primary concern was to preserve the union.
Following the end of the war, Reconstruction took decades. A question for those about "heritage;" do you seriously believe that the battle flag would have been tolerated flying at a state Capitol by the occupying victors? (Here is a hint, that answer would be "no.")
Following Reconstruction, the South went through a long period of continued denigration of the "negro" race. Jim Crow laws, the Klan, segregation, etc.; this too is in the historical record, and isn't debatable. Following World War II, the civil rights movement started in earnest. Again the South was petrified at the notion of those Northerners "telling them what to do." A huge central issue was school integration. Strom Thurmond (yes, that Strom Thurmond) pushed adopting the battle flag of Northern Virginia as the official flag of his fledgling "States Rights Party."
Momentum built, and the battle flag was hoisted at the South Carolina state Capitol on April 11, 1961. This was an act best described as "raising the middle finger" to the North over their "civil rights nonsense." Much emphasis was placed upon "honoring history" as justification of course. Many borne post war "drank this Kool-Aid."
So, Confederate flags were raised in the 1960s at statehouses and placed on state flags, again over discrimination and subjugation.
Dear readers. Can you understand that many people view that flag as a bloodstain on our nation's history? My personal opinions; Confederate flags should not be tolerated on any public building or at any public function. Government is supposed to represent all.
Our Constitution honors and facilitates individual liberty. As such, private individuals/groups have the right to use, display, and honor and love their symbols.
Individuals/private groups, if you display that flag, "Have a Happy."
Personally, I believe that you're a deluded anachronism, not to mention insensitive.
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