LoneLaugher
Diamond Member
I don't know what that means
I didn't say they treat it with "reverence" -- our family's not a reverent or fetishistic bunch; I never saw any of us treat any flag with reverence. They just had some around -- as a decoration that declares one's roots. No different from growing up as the only kids in the neighborhood (in the North) who ate grits.
You gotta realize a symbol like a flag isn't monolithic in what it means to different people.
Obviously it means different things to different people. The American flag carries a very negative image in many parts of the world. That ISIS flag means religious liberty to some.
Here's the point. The only point that matters when it comes to the rebel flag. It is.....for a large portion of this nation's populace.....a symbol of hatred and division. It is.....for all intents and purposes.....the banner of a former enemy of the United States of America. The entity / nation it once represented no longer exists. It has no place in the public square. Zero.
I personally don't think any flag has a place in the public square, partially for reasons related to the above. However, my point is you still can't declare what somebody's symbol means to them. Your first sentence in fact concedes that, and in that it's correct.
And I'd even beg to differ that the entity/nation it once represented no longer exists. Because culturally, in many corners outside the urban areas .... it does. It's reflected in lifestyles, language, food and drink, music... all the aspects that make up culture. And the S&B is part of that in the same way the Pilgrim icon is a symbol of Massachusetts or the magnolia invokes Mississippi.
Can the image be used as to hail and foment division, racism and hate? Sure it can, and it is. But that doesn't mean that is always the intent. We well know the Stars and Stripes is selectively used the same way. But to conclude that therefore that's what the American Flag means, period, is a bit like some wag on this board declaring "you just used an Alinsky tactic, therefore you're an Alinsky disciple", even if you've never heard of Alinsky.
Just saying, to the extent its display represents "speech" -- it must be treated as such, if we are to be true to our principles.
Let's go round and round. You can have it...you can fly it....you can pray to it if you want. But it doesn't belong in or on any official property in this nation...except in a historical archive. In time....it won't be. Just another generation or two.
