One of the good things to come as a result of the patriotism expressed by people after the terrorist attacks of September 11 has been the large number of US flags on display everywhere. I like it especially since now it seems to me that Union flags outnumber Confederate flags in rural Georgia (since probably Reconstruction). You can probably guess that I have no fondness for the Confederate flag. In my opinion, it is a symbol of the Confederacy which mainly stood for right to own slaves. Yes, the civil war was not about slavery but that was because the Union fought not to abolish slavery but rather to keep the Union. I know that the this flag was not the official flag of the Confederacy, but due to historical quirks it has been the most well-known symbol of the confederacy.
Georgia’s first Republican Governor since Reconstruction, Sonny Perdue, ran last year on the promise that the state flag would be put for a referendum. Remember that the previous Governor Roy Barnes had changed the 1956 flag, which had the Confederate symbol on it, to a new flag which definitely looks like it was designed by committee. Now, I think there are a large number of Georgians, especially white rural ones, who want the old flag back. Another option has been to bring back the pre-1956 flag. According to PhotoDude, that flag was based on the original Confederate national flag. Overall, it’s a bad situation for Georgia, with an NAACP boycott threat looming in the background.
I believe that with the history of systematic and racial hatred going back a long time and ending only 30-40 years ago, we must not only act for racial harmony but must also be seen to do so. And that means discarding quite a few symbols from the past even though they might be dear to the heart of the local whites for reasons other than race. If we want a decent multi-racial and multi-cultural society, that is a price we have to pay. That is my preferred solution.
On the other hand, I have a novel proposal for resolving the flag issue as well. How about the Georgia legislature deciding to bring back eithe rone of the previous flags? But with a caveat: In the legislative act itself, the Georgia legislature officially and profusely apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow, and recognizes the relationship of the state flag and the Confederacy with the slavery issue. What do you think?
As an aside, has the United States government or an state government officially apologized for slavery or Jim Crow?
THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN!
Stephen: The racist, slaver legacy of the Confederacy will hopefully stay dead forever.
the south WILL rise AGAIN…
Yall n****** Just wait!
Ashley: Your bigoted comment has been censored. Further bigotry will get you banned here.