Flagging support

Nine people were gunned down in a South Carolina church, and the overwhelming response has been to ban a flag.

If that sounds too simplistic, it is. Since that immensely senseless tragedy, seven black churches have been burned to the ground. All have been declared arson. I’m surprised the NRA hasn’t suggested that bringing more matches to the church would have solved the problem.

But…this post is not about guns, though they are part of the problem. This post is wrapped up in the the flags.

Whitewashing history

For some, the Confederate flag is about history. That history includes oppression and abuse—the enslavement of humans against their will for no other reason than the color of their skin and the greed of plantation owners.

For some, like me, the flag is also about heritage. I have a 2nd Great Grandfather who was a private in the Confederate infantry. He was not a slave owner. I don’t know what his reasons for enlisting were for joining the infantry. It’s possible that enlisting was a means of taking care of his young family. Even today, many of our armed service men and women fight for their country for reasons that they do not believe in.

In this country, it’s a sign of disrespect to fly any flag higher than the American flag. It’s telling that, even though the flags of the United States and the state of South Carolina were lowered to half-staff in honor of those innocent lives lost, the Confederate flag waved above them. That this is done at a state capital raises the principles of oppression and racism above the national principles of freedom and justice for all.

Count me among those who say that the Confederate flag flying at any state capital needs to come down. Likewise, states whose flags incorporate the Confederate flag need to remove or redesign that portion of their flag.

I am not, however, supportive of banning the image of the Confederate flag from the marketplace (as Apple, Amazon, and Walmart apparently believe). It has its historical significance in talking and teaching about the Civil War. Many in the South, white and black, have long tried to embrace the flag for its history and heritage, even though it is impossible to escape the racism at the root of it. Bless them, they’ve tried. We, as a nation, are not there yet.

Banning the Confederate flag attempts to rewrite history by erasing its important lessons. We are still learning from the past; the flag still has a place. It’s just not at state buildings.

Giving history some color

Interestingly, while support for the Confederate emblem was, well…flagging, another symbol was on the rise.

Rainbow flags were already the order of the day during the last weekend in June, the traditional LGBT Pride weekend. The decision of the Supreme Court, which gave marriage rights to every U. S. citizen, only increased the fervor with which they were waved.

They were waved with enthusiasm, love, and, yes, pride! Love conquered fear and hate. At least in five out of nine Supreme Court justices. Unless you had gone camping in a remote spot on Thursday with no access to a mobile signal, you would have seen a rainbow flag or rainbow something  all over television and social media.

Opponents then started attacking the rainbow flag and wanting it banned as well. I fail to see the Rainbow flag as a symbol of enslavement in the same way the Confederate flag is. The Rainbow flag is a symbol of unity and diversity. E pluribus unum, if you will.

Coming together

This week, we celebrate our United States Independence Day: and there is much to be grateful for and celebrate. Mostly that we’re not British (though we could do worse).

We can celebrate that our Constitution still lives, that our Republic still stands, and that for all of our differences as individuals, we are still one nation, one people. Whether or not we believe the Confederate flag is about history and heritage or slavery and oppression. Whether or not we believe that any two people who love each other (independent of any religious/philosophical viewpoints) should be able to get married.

The past few weeks we’ve seen families who have lost loved ones forgive the murderer. We’ve witnessed the joy of millions who can now marry and take care of their families. Am I too naive to believe we can come together and celebrate…under one flag?