A symbol of discord

I know quite a few of you are on Facebook, but for those of you who aren't, there are these applications that allow you to trade and collect things with your friends. Some are harmless, some are silly, and some actually do some good as you use them, like my favorite, Lil Green Patch (which helps to save rain forest acreage). To be honest, I've gotten so I don't do very many of them anymore, because I just don't want to spend the time, and you also need to be careful because many of these are third party applications, unverified and unchecked. Be wary!

I was downright shocked the other day when I saw some southern gift app--I don't know what all gifts were included, but the one I saw was a Confederate flag. I love the south, and lived there with my parents for a while. This is not a slam against the south, but I think the flag issue continues to crop up over and over, and we really need to put this to bed.

Some see it as nothing more than a symbol. Maybe it's regional pride, maybe it's a matter of being a Skynyrd fan, maybe it's just the red, white, and blue, albeit a different configuration from the American flag. It IS a symbol, but it is one of hatred and intolerance. I find it offensive, a lingering emblem of an epic fail of an experiment in which part of our country chose to form their own country rather than give up a barbaric and and inhumane institution. You can lecture me, if you like, about how it was about states' rights versus federal, or how they just wanted to preserve their agricultural way of life. I don't buy it. Part of that way of life depended upon slave labor, and that was indefensible and obviously unsustainable.

And believe me, I know the south doesn't have exclusivity on racism. We've got plenty of our own up here, sad to say. This goes beyond racism, although that is part of our struggles in the past to become a unified country. I used to work with a woman from Ghana when I lived in Indianapolis. She was studying to get her American citizenship, and asked to borrow some of my books about the Civil War. After she read them, Victoria told me, "You know, it was fascinating to read about this. I remember learning that most countries have to go through a civil war before they become unified. It's almost always that way in Africa, and it was that way here, too."

We’ve been through our civil war, and many other struggles over the years, and we have formed a "more perfect union." The man who is arguably our greatest President (Lincoln is tied with Thomas Jefferson in my book) was murdered because of the partisan feelings of the Civil War. We're not the North United States and the South United States. We are one. Why cling to a symbol of divisiveness that many find offensive on several different levels? Charlie Daniels used to sing "Be proud to be a rebel, 'cause the south's gonna do it again." I love Charlie ("I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been!"), but that song always irritated me. What exactly is the south gonna do again? Secede? Attack the north? I just don't get it.

I was disgusted when I read this. This is not a symbol of heritage, it is a symbol of hate, and has no place in our schools or government--only in museums, as part of our past. I honestly find it as offensive as a Nazi swastika flag.

If you want to take pride in something, take it from being part of the United States. Take it from the Stars and Stripes, not the Stars and Bars. The Confederate flag is an outdated, offensive symbol of oppression, division, and yes, war. We need to make it part of our past, not our present.

And if you want to send me southern stuff on Facebook, send me grits. I love grits. But don't send me that flag.