Confederate Flag

[Christine]

Betty - I didn't intend for this discussion to be hurtful or offensive to anyone, and I do agree that most of the problems in our nation stem from the disintegration of the family - particularly the lack of real fathers.

As I said, my husband is one half rebel. And we have had great joy and excitement in researching their Confederate experiences. He is proud to be from the South.

While thinking about this the thought struck me yesterday, quite forcefully, that any religious icons (including 10 commandments) are not allowed on state capital grounds. . .

I guess I am wondering why we can't feel a deep connection to our ancestors, some who did wonderfully brave and courageous things, without seeming to endorse some of the things they believed in? I know nobody on this board wants to go back to those days where the tenants of the Confederacy were supported by millions - North and South.

I am asking, without any rancor or animoisity or judgement: for those who want to keep the flags flying on state property - please tell me why. Why, when, where is it okay? Can we have that discussion without it getting into personal attacks? After all, none of us voted to seceed. None of us are responsible for decisions made by our parents, let alone our great great grandparents.

I am not trying to whitewash history. I am not in favor of burning all Confederate related things. I am not in favor of renaming all streets and pulling down all statues. It still bugs me that The Conspirator got so many things so wrong in their zeal to portray their liberal viewpoint by neglecting to look at Frederick Aiken's real history. Today I saw that Ben Afleck pressured "Finding Your Roots" to leave out his slave owning ancestor. That is just plain and simply wrong.

We need to 'own' our history - good, bad, and ugly.

But do we need to fly it from our state capitals? Do we need to hold so tightly to the past that we ignore the present. If the answer is no, where is the line between honoring the past, and embracing the future?