This is the essence of the issue: a red field; upon which is a white saltire; contained within the white saltire, a smaller blue saltire emblazoned with stars; all over a 2:3 banner for the convenience of a modern manufacturer. This ancient symbol of rebellion, now approaching 156 years of use by forces civil and combatant, has become in equal measure beloved and maligned for its controversial history. What I refer to, if you are not so familiar with this deeply entrenched argument, is of course the Confederate Battle Flag.
Before I enter into any of the underlying moral qualms I have with this flag, we must enter into the history of this flag, and those who upheld it. We must do this to dispel the shroud of mythology that surrounds the Confederate Flag. The first myth, and perhaps the most easily disproven myth, is that the Confederate Flag was ever flown during the American Civil War. Many flags were flown throughout the four years of the existence of the confederacy; and many did contain the “stars and bars.” However, never did the modern conception of the Confederate Flag exist during the Confederacy without the concession of it being relegated to a canton or in some way edited with various colours and ratios. Never did a brave cavalry charge beneath the flag that I described at the beginning of this text.
Another important set of myths is the concept that the Confederate States of America were in any way built upon an idealistic, non-racial foundation. Now, this is not to say that the North was by any manner a saintly array of racial progress and equality; indeed, it might be said that in the year 1861, no society had a sense of equity or equality near that of what we have today. However, the point remains that the CSA were constructed entirely upon the subjugation of all varieties of African peoples, and the supposed superiority and right of all “white” races to control slaves. It can be found in any of the declarations of independence from the ten states in the CSA, it can be found in the speeches and pamphlets delivered by the Confederate government, and most damning of all it can be found in the vast profit the CSA gained from the use of slavery in conjunction with the cotton industry.
Now that I have removed some of the mystique of the flag, I will enter the problems of the present day. Many people, especially in the South, and especially in states that were former members of the CSA often associate the stars and bars with their heritage. They wear it not as the symbol of hate, but of something uniquely “Southern.” I must urge all those in the South against this. It is not because I hate your heritage; it is because I believe that Southern heritage can be so much more than that flag.
Allow me to elaborate: the South is not just a singular flag; it is not a set of states who rebelled for their right to own slaves. It is a cultural island within the states. It has one of the world’s most famous literary traditions, tracing back to such prestigious authors as Mark Twain. It has a unique linguistic status, having developed an accent so synonymous with America that everyone from Taiwan to Paris can make a rough imitation of a Southern drawl. It is a land marked by rugged individualism and a frontier spirit. Many of these states, like Oklahoma, have a sizable Native American population with a rich culture that deeply influenced each state’s history. Perhaps most importantly, while the South espoused many deeply racist policies throughout the middle of the 19th century, it was also the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement.
So I must again reiterate to anybody from the South that if you want to display your heritage, you do not need to fly the so-called “Confederate Flag.” That flag should represent you no more than the flag of Bhutan or Tannu Tuva. It is up to you, as individuals throughout the South, to drag your name out of the mud that it was born in and become something more. It is up to you to make your states synonymous with progress instead of backwardness. It is up to you to build a culture of peace and freedom, and tear down a past of war and slavery. That is your choice: a South that leads into the future, or a South that lingers in the past.
I started to write this piece as I was listening to members of my churches Black Live Matter team discuss a recent hate crime that occurred in northern NH. It got me to thinking about fellow students I know who revere the confederate flag. I found myself wishing they understood the flag’s history.