Confederate Flag

[Juan Marrero]

The 1960's and 70's produced some wonderful things, but did we have to lose much of our values in order to let go of some of our prejudices?

I don't think that the Confederate flag is a useful means through which to honor those who fought honorably and bravely for the CSA. The Confederate flag has become something along the lines of kitsch--not quite as bad as fuzzy dice to hang from the rearview mirror, but close. The flag, in my view, is commonly interpreted as a sort of backlash to the best parts of the Civil Rights movement, not a dignified memorial to Southern dead, most of whom, as has been pointed out were not themselves slave owners. I have appreciated this forum for its civility. It has remained that way, although this topic shows that the past is not dead, it merely dozes intermittently.

Many years ago, I watched the widow of a MS newspaper editor being interviewed about racism in the South. She bristled a bit and then said one of the most interesting things I've heard on the subject; "In the South, we didn't care how near they got as long as they didn't get too high; in the North, they didn't care how high they got as long as they didn't get to near." Think of it, the Civil War as a quarrel over height and proximity. Perhaps, everything can be reduced to geometric equations.