Local news media reported last week
that a Confederate Park is being built on private land nearby by the Sons of the Confederacy. The first stage has been completed – a flag pole, upon which will
fly a large Confederate Battle Flag.
Many in the community have
responded as one might expect - horrified that this symbol of so dark a chapter
in American history will be flown at the edge of our community, AND so close to
the interstate highway, where all passersby will see.
What will people think of us?
I was confronted with this issue
once before, when I was in college. A particular fraternity on campus – one
with an “Old South” theme – painted the garage door on its house with the
Confederate Battle Flag.
For the sake of accuracy, the flag
at issue is one of the many flags used by the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Each state and each battle group had their own flags. In fact, a former church
member has published an entire book on the Confederate Battle Flags of Mississippi
alone. The popular battle flag which most people identify – which has been
wrongly referred to as the “Stars and Bars” – was actually the second
Confederate Navy Flag, and the official battle flag of the Army of
Tennessee.
As with the SOTC today, the
fraternity claimed that painting the flag on the garage door was about honoring
their heritage – Robert E. Lee, women wearing hoop skirts, and southern
gentlemen named Beauregard sitting out on the veranda sipping mint juleps in
the southern heat.
The African-American students on
campus were offended by the display. To them, the flag was a symbol of hatred
and oppression, a cruel reminder of how the African people – perhaps even their
ancestors – were stolen from their native lands, shipped to America, and forced
to live under harsh conditions and work the fields of the white landowners in
the southern states.
The fraternity might have garnered
more sympathy if they had had even one black member.
A truce was finally brokered and
Campus Ministry paid for the paint to cover the Confederate Flag with the
fraternity’s official flag.
Today, the Sons of the Confederacy (SOTC)
insist the park they are creating and the flag they plan to fly is about honoring
their heritage.
Opponents say the concept is a
reminder of an ugly period in history when our nation was divided over the
issue of slavery.
The SOTC insist the war was about
economics.
Opponents counter that the southern
economy was propped up by slavery.
More recently, the SOTC have picked
up on a Tea Party theme and insist the war was fought about States’ Rights.
Opponents insist that the States’ Rights
issue in question was whether it was appropriate to hold slaves or not.
It’s hard to separate one from the
other.
That’s the
problem with symbols – they can mean different things to different people.
Take, for
instance, the swastika, a symbol that today easily arouses anger and/or fear when
displayed in public. The swastika has been used in many different cultures for
thousands of years. The word itself comes from Hindu Sanskrit and translates to
“well-being”.
But in
1920, the Nazi Party in Germany adopted the symbol, using it to represent their
belief in the supremacy of the Aryan Race – people with white skin, blond hair,
and blue eyes. Adolf Hitler, a very superstitious man and keen on the power of
symbols, incorporated the swastika into the state flag of Germany in 1935.
During his reign of terror, Hitler sought to create a supreme Aryan nation in
Germany by selective breeding and genetic manipulation, and by wiping out the
Jewish people.
So today, in the minds of most, the
swastika is a reminder of the cruelty of Hitler’s Nazi regime. In fact, after
the defeat of Hitler in 1945, Germany and Austria both outlawed the display of
the emblem.
Regrettably, today you will find
the symbol still being utilized by “Skin Heads”, white supremacists, rebellious
youth, and other anti-government fringe groups in America.
Here’s another example: A more
familiar and beloved symbol – the cross – was once a tool of pain and torture,
on which the ancient Roman government crucified many criminals and insurgents.
But after Jesus was crucified – and resurrected! – the cross became a symbol of
victory and power over death.
Regrettably, today it has become a
fashion accessory – worn by rock stars and celebrities, as well as priests – and it has lost
much of its power.
So is the
Confederate Battle Flag simply a relic of our nation’s history that gives us a
lump in the throat and makes our eyes misty when we gaze upon it? Or is it intentionally
being used to represent less honorable ideals?
In the
South today, one can still find the flag flying in public venues – at court
houses and over capitol buildings.
But
Kentucky was a border state, officially remaining neutral during the Civil War.
Battles were fought around here, but the Union Armies quickly took control of
this end of the state in order to control the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
On the
selected piece of land, the SOTC will have a difficult time proving anything
even vaguely interesting occurred here.
In the South today, one can find
the Confederate Battle Flag emblazoned on everything from belt buckles to
bumper stickers to bikinis. It has become a symbol of the “rebel” – the hard-drinkin’,
pick-up truck drivin’, gun-totin’ Red Neck.
And there’s
nothing wrong with that.
I fly the “Jolly Roger” for pretty
much the same reason!
“Yes, I am a pyrat – 200 years too
late!”
What is
bothersome, however, is that we can't control how others today use symbols that are beloved to us. The Confederate Battle
Flag, for example, is also used by the Klu Klux Klan and other hate-groups across our
nation.
So which
symbol will people see when they pass by? Heritage or hate?
I can’t
tell the Sons of the Confederacy what to do on their private property. They are
within their rights to display whichever symbol they choose.
But living
in a community that is already 98.2% white, I wish they would choose a
different symbol, possibly one that is not so negatively charged.
