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The Confederate Flag : America's Scapegoat Page 2 by Roger Smith Although slavery was wrong, to some, especially those who lived in the South, it was their only means of survival. The bottom line is, people will fight to survive. Father against son, brother against brother, friend against friend, they fought hard in order to preserve their existence at the time. Although I am glad of the outcome of the Civil War, I do not believe it had to come to that. It could have been prevented. For all the accolades that have been given to our forefathers and the North in general for their liberal minded thinking, they had the opportunity to end slavery in the U.S. before it began. They chose not to. In North America, during its expansion period, at least three countries: the Netherlands, England, and the United States, settled there and continued the process of slavery. The U.S., on several occasions, talked about ending slavery but nothing was ever accomplished. Why? Because the U.S. has been only true and consistent to one thing: money. Capitalism has been bittersweet for America. It has helped them profit in a way no other country ever has but at the expense of its society. The North, after acquiring their wealth, was then willing to make a legitimate attempt at ending slavery but at the cost of the agriculturally dependent South, whose fortunes also came from the slave trade but in terms of manpower, which they would continue to need in order to survive. Most important to me, however, is that all of this went on as Old Glory flew as the flag of the land. So, let me get this straight. The Confederate Flag, which flew only after slavery had long been an institution in the U.S., and which today does not have any significant impact nationally (except when it is brought up in debate) is viewed as a symbol of hatred while the Stars and Stripes, which have been officially flying since 1777, stand tall as a symbol of freedom. There is something very wrong, and ironic, with this picture. I know of late there has been a lot of nostalgia for the American Flag. I, myself, am a Persian Gulf Veteran who has fought to defend everything it is supposed to stand for and would do so again but, as I said earlier, you do not have to like a situation in order to understand it. Most of the atrocities committed against blacks have been done while the Stars and Stripes have been flying. I grew up pledging my allegiance to the same flag that flew while my ancestors were being enslaved, hanged, and brutally beaten but now I am told not to sympathize for those people who want to display their heritage by flying the Confederate Flag atop their State Capitol, or anywhere else publicly, because it, stands for slavery. I have no problem with the Confederate flag flying anywhere. As far as I am concerned, it stands for the beginning of the end of slavery. When southern states seceded from the Union and raised the Confederate Flag, it forced the powers that be to finally take a realistic approach at solving a problem that for too long had been ignored. I believe that slavery would have eventually ended but it may have been centuries later (for those of you who think it would have been sooner, remember the 1960's, and that was a hundred years after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery). Although I have written about the debate over the Confederate Flag, personally, I feel the United States should be past that. I am not saying that we should not remember the past, but we have to take what we have learned and try to create an egalitarian society. I know some people may laugh at this suggestion or think it is impossible, but guess what, I have no idea what it feels like to eat at an establishment that says "colored only". |