The Confederate Flag Controversy

The Confederate flag has been stirring up strong emotions for a very long time. Last month's terrorist attack in South Carolina has moved the debate over the Confederate flag to the forefront of our nation's attention. While most people recognize it as a symbol of an ugly time in American history, others (including many old, white political elites in the South) choose to see it as a source of pride and 'Southern heritage.'

"Our ancestors fought for the South.  It’s part of our heritage."

But that is precisely the problem.  The South fought the United States to keep slavery, an institution of human bondage, oppression and cruelty that produced the tremendous economic wealth the South had come to enjoy. Those who want to keep the Confederate flag do not believe that slavery is, or ever was, wrong. They are in fact signaling that they have not changed with either the law or the times and are holding America back instead of moving forward.

When I hear people defend the Confederate flag, it seems that they are really defending a heritage of pro-slavery. And there is no justification for that in today’s society.