Along with the Gadsden Flag (Don't Tread on Me), Old Glory and the Betsy Ross Stars and Strips, I also fly the Confederate Battle Flag as part of my home flag ensemble. There are those who say that by flying the Confederate Battle Flag I espouse and endorse hate, racism and oppression. Unfortunately that flag has been hijacked by some organizations that do foster those beliefs as part of their credo. I personally do not adhere to those ideals or values. I fly that flag in commemoration of what it originally stood for, individual freedom and State's Rights.
Unfortunately contemporary views of history have misconstrued the cause of the Civil War as slavery. Although the issue of slavery contributed to this conflict the over arching issue was states rights.
Did the federal government have the right to tell individual states what they could and could not do? Only about 3% of the population of the South owned slaves and of those the majority where what was considered the landed aristocracy. Why would none slave owning, poor Southerns fight for slaves they didn't own and for a small group of people who in general despised them for their poverty?
The answer is not that they wanted slaves or that they loved the Southern Aristocracy but that they loved their freedom and their rights as an individual state to be free from the meddling of the federal government to decide what they could and could not do.
Do I believe in slavery? No. It is/was a horrible institution and a blot on our history as a nation that was founded on freedom and individual liberty. Was the Confederacy justified in taking up arms to defend their state's rights? Absolutely!
Given the times and issues we face today, I fly the Confederate Battle Flag to remind myself and other of the sacrifices a group of Americans made to defend their individual and state's rights.
I encourage everyone to do the same.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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1 comment:
People need to seriously think about states rights and the beloved Confederate Flag. I know why I had grandfathers on both sides of the war...as so many other people did. I think that many of those on the North fought for the unity and power that the states had combined, but those on the South fought for states rights and the freedom to decide what was best for their area of the country. The United States is so large and diverse that we could be a bunch of individual countries.
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