The Confederate battle flag, psyche and things of the heart might sound strange when spoken of in the same breath. And I will probably be roundly criticized for this article by some from both sides of the renewed controversy surrounding this flag, which came about as the result of the deaths of nine South Carolina citizens who were murdered while worshiping in their church.
Whether or not such criticism is warranted will be determined in the mind of each reader. However; despite their determination, most reasonable readers who feel that this criticism is warranted will agree to disagree with me while still respecting my right to hold the opinions expressed herein. That is the way that I hope that it will be with all of us as we move forward on whether or not the Confederate battle flag in South Carolina should be removed from the state capitol grounds.
I have always believed that the Confederate flag should not be displayed in any public setting because it is divisive and the United States is the country of all of its citizens. Right or wrong I am leery when I am in the presence of someone who prominently displays a Confederate flag on his person, automobile or other personal items while they are in a public setting. Under the circumstances, I am never quite certain as to whether or not they hold any animus toward me.
The Confederate flag had its beginning when a number of southern states decided to secede from the United States mainly as a result of their resistance to the ongoing effort at the time to abolish slavery. Since the Civil War, people of all colors have fought for this country and bled, suffered and died for America’s way of life.
Although it seems completely reasonable to me that there should be no place in the public domain for this flag, at the same time when I try to view things from the perspective of southerners who fought for the Confederacy and overall southerners whether or not they fought under the Confederate flag, I can see their perspective and feel their pain. Obviously, I do not agree with their perspective and although I can feel their pain I know that it cannot begin to approach the depth of theirs; but I can still to some degree empathize with them.
To many of these people the Confederate flag long ago became embedded in their psyche and as such has become a thing of the heart. It holds all of the sentimentality as does the Roman mythological tale of Jupiter, Cupid and the beautiful young woman (Psyche) that he loved still holds for avid readers of Roman mythology today.
Some of those southerners who are so frustrated and angry, especially those who fought for the south, feel that way as a result of their lack of education regarding the real history of the Confederate flag. Even if they knew its real history though, they would still be frustrated and angry although that knowledge might mitigate that anger. However, others who already know the real history of this flag are also frustrated and angry. To them it is simply an intricate part of the laidback southern tapestry; a part of what makes the south the easygoing place that it is and that it had nothing to do with the catastrophe that resulted in the loss of nine innocent lives.
Most, if not all, of the people that feel this way are white. But most of them are likely decent people who love this country and believe in fairness and equal justice for all people…despite the fact that they have flaws, which we all do. They see things from a different perspective. And we must respect their right to their perspective and opinions while we work to educate them as to our perspective.
I, for one, respect their right to their perspective and opinions but I still feel sad and hurt when I reflect on why, where, when and how those innocent people lost their lives. This tragic and unfortunate occurrence is now a permanent part of the core of thinking that motivates me to support the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol’s grounds. Accordingly, I sincerely hope that those who support keeping the status quo will lose the political battle to keep this divisive symbol, in any form, in the public domain. It obviously has its place in American history but that place should reside in history books, museums, and their private domains.
Black lives do matter but there are polls that suggest that many Americans already believe that all Americans are treated equally. I do not believe this because I have lived a different experience and witnessed how many other people of color have been treated differently than their white counterparts in various venues.
I have no doubt that there are people on both sides of this issue who could tell stories that would either support or detract from the unequal treatment that people of color profess to be burdened with simply because of the color of their skin. What this means is that we as people of color still have much work to do.
As we do it; however, we must do it while respecting the rights of others to their perspectives and opinions. And we must also realize and acknowledge the fact that there are myriads of white people who are standing arm-in-arm with us and working hand-in-hand with us to assure that there is fair and equal treatment for all people.
Virtually all politicians are tough to stomach because they have fallen victim to the nature of America’s political system and, unfortunately, feel that they must do the same thing that other politicians do in order to effectively compete and have a successful political career. Even if this is the case it is not an acceptable excuse. Should it be acceptable for all college students to cheat in order to effectively compete with fellow students? Should it be acceptable for all businesses to cheat in order to effectively compete with their competitors? No! It happens but this does not make it acceptable.
The renewed controversy over the Confederate flag has many politicians scrambling to be on the right side of the issue when a final decision is made. Of course they are scrambling due to political prudence rather than their burning desire to make America the best that it can be. Since despite the ugliness and loud and messiness of our democracy I refuse to give up on my country by refusing to participate in its political process, I will continue to do my civic duty and vote in my effort to contribute to making America an even better place to live.
Since the policy positions of Democrats more often express my point of view on issues than do those of Republicans, I normally support Democrats during elections. Notwithstanding, there are many Republican elected officials in the south who deserve to be given credit for the positions they have taken with respect to the removal of the Confederate flag. These officials are following the lead of Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who was the first to call for removal of this flag from the state grounds in her state. Since then, many of the surrounding states have also called for its removal. Alabama has already removed it from their state grounds.
Although there are many officials who support removing the flag from public places there are a few like State Representative William Chumley, Republican of South Carolina, who believe that it should not be removed. Representative Chumley even went so far as to lay the blame for the deaths of the nine people that were murdered at the victims’ feet by implying that the group should have defended itself especially since there was only one perpetrator.
People are always going to disagree on issues and on how the country should be run. My hope is that at the very least what we will get out of the tragedy that took place in South Carolina is that politicians at all levels of government will begin to debate these tough issues and work to resolve them rather than dodging them by playing politics and indulging in constant pandering. If they refuse to debate the issues then to bring about this much needed change will be an even more daunting task for the American people.
Eulus Dennis