The Confederate flag as most know it today actually has a number of variants, the most recognizable being the square battle flag adaptation, or the official and more rectangular Confederate flag. The commonly misused “stars and bars” phrase actually refers to an earlier version of the flag that looked more like the “Stars and Stripes”. The historical foundations of the “rebel flag” are many and vary depending on the slant of the documenting resource. Suffice it to say, the flag was the culmination of input from many sources and came to symbolize the resolve of the South during the American Civil War.
Now it doesn’t take a historical genius to understand the deep roots of slavery in the South at the time of the Civil War, and we certainly shouldn’t ignore those roots. However the opportunistic and hypocritical race baiting by the Left in this country after the murders in Charleston last month, along with the caustic mischaracterizations of a willing and complicit “main stream” press, are irresponsible to say the least. Now putting aside the indisputable numbers showing fully 91% of blacks murdered in the U.S. in 2012 were murdered by other blacks, and 85% of whites by other whites in 2013 for just a minute, the truth of the matter is during the middle 19th Century most Northerners needed, shall we say, a whole lot of convincing in terms of emancipation, with many vocally indifferent to the notion at best. My point is the road to the high ground in terms of “all men are created equal” during that period was anything but smooth under either flag. The South simply had more to lose in economic terms.
The problem as I see it today is there are misguided and truly manipulative folks among us, hell-bent on re-writing history so as to portray an evil nation that has never learned its lesson. This societal mindset is necessary to facilitate Left-Wing electoral causes like class-warfare, racial division, and entitlement. Well shame on these fools who simply refuse to grasp the very freedom which allows for their ignorance, and shame on the press for shirking their journalistic integrity and responsibility to the truth. The fact is history tells us that the United States of America was indeed a rebellious nation forged amid violent revolution. But this is true because her people have risen to the higher causes of moral injustice more often than any other country in human history, (and as it turns out, would do so even within her own borders). Now the timing of our “rising” if you will was/is never what life’s inexperienced classroom types see as adequate. But it doesn’t change the fact that in just 239 years this republic has set the standard for liberty, and thus become the standard–bearer target for true evil doers around the globe.
No friends, it’s just not that easy. You can’t take down a flag, mothball a few Civil War hero statues and expect to silence history. Eventually it will break free and bite you. Where do we draw the line on this type of purging? Where does it stop and who makes that call? Sounds like something you might hear about in the former Soviet bloc doesn’t it?
The American Civil War with all of its flags and monuments was a pivotal and critical time for our country, and it represents our ability as a nation to embrace our own history, for good and bad, and heal by way of it. So I call on our president, and pandering politicians on both sides of the aisle to stop dividing us but rather unite us. Put aside your ideology and/or selfishness, serve your oath-of-office, mind your history in the full context, and quit being part of the problem… Oh, and that last part goes for you too NASCAR….
