As this blog implies, I’m a Yankee living in the South. I watch as the largest flag – a confederate flag- I have ever seen flying high next to the highway almost everyday. Does it offend me? Absolutely not. And why would it? Nobody has done anything with this flag to personally offend me. Nobody has used it to make any aspect of my life difficult, make me feel inferior or prevent me from doing something. It seems futile to me that we’re having a Civil war all over again and the only thing at stake is whether we should continue to buy products that display the flag or if it should be allowed anywhere throughout the South.
The flag represents a time in our history. History is not always neat and pretty; it’s not always politically correct. It doesn’t always make us look good but it’s still our history. Hiding that flag doesn’t erase history; the only thing it does is make us ignorant of the lessons we should have learned from it. We wouldn’t exist as a country if it weren’t for Civil War and dissenting opinions.
With that said, the Confederate flag has no place flying on a government building. Government buildings should represent what our country currently stands for, not what a small group of people think it should have represented over a hundred years ago. The fact is, the South lost the war. You don’t get a consolation prize for that. Further, there were numerous official Confederate flags – so how do you even decide on the “correct” one. There is a difference between learning from the past and hanging on to it. Just ask Mets’ fans who are still hanging on to that 1986 World Series Championship like it was yesterday.
It isn’t a matter of politics. It isn’t a matter of agendas or making a name for yourself during the next election. This is not what our elected officials should be getting involved in beyond removing the flag from a government building. Our elected officials should be spending their time being innovative and acting together to move our country forward – they should be entrepreneurs for our country’s business.
As a country we are at a crossroads right now. We are facing a new Civil War every day. There is always going to be a “cool” new cause to support or a group of people that others feel they need to judge and put down. As a country we are failing at maintaining the reasons this country was founded, such as tolerance and freedom. We need to find a way to unite, focus on issues that positively impact society and learn to live together. Hey, I live next door to Patriots fans and we manage just fine. Seems pretty basic and simple to me.
Further, we need to remember that there are over 1000 channels on any given tv these days as well as numerous subscription apps. Yet, some network exec, from the generation that ate lead paint, needs to stick his two cents into the ridiculous argument by removing the Dukes of Hazard from the lineup because their car might offend someone? It hasn’t offended anyone in 30 years, now suddenly it’s an issue because someone decided to bring attention to it? This is the equivalent of a 2 year falling – he’s fine until a bunch of old ladies make a fuss about it. Suddenly the world is coming to an end, he’s in tears and needs a box of Band-Aids. If the network execs were truly worried about offending anyone they would have cancelled every sitcom on TV Land, Antenna TV, Pop, and all the other channels that air old tv shows. There is room for everyone – if you don’t like what’s on, change the channel.
que the music… “Boy the way Glenn Miller played. Songs that made the hit parade….. Those were the days!”
