Actually, that was very nicely put .......... and I'll gladly put my knowledge of the subject to the test at any time. You don't know me, and you don't know my background. So, to imply a lack of knowledge is an "ad hominen" argument. Look it up, if you don't recognize the phrase.
I am well aware that slavery actually predates written history ......the Sumerians practiced it, as has every other civilization through most of recorded history. The bible covers it in both the old and new testaments (so I guess God is OK with slavery). The point being that just because a practice has a long history does not make that practice correct - or one that should be continued in perpetuity, and thought of as part of a proud heritage. That it was done for so long does not make it moral. Yes, there is a long and unsavory history of slavery, with every nationality and religion sharing the this proud heritage. Were you aware of the Irish slave trade - the proud heritage of King James II and Charles I, where over 500,000 Irish were sold into slavery in the West Indies, Virginia and New England ? All this in the 1600's ... oddly enough, Britian abolished slavery in 1807, long before the US. We were the last civilized nation to abolish slavery, even though it had been outlawed in the North in 1800.
A side question perhaps, but what if the south had won, and seceded from the Union .... would slavery still be in practice today ? That is what flying the confederate flag at government buildings signifies .... that the values espoused by the confederate government are endorsed by the state. The Confederate flag was born out of a government defending the enslavement of black people and resurrected as an emblem for whites violently opposing racial integration. Any government that recognizes the flag is declaring that it cherishes a history of racial terror. Denying that is as futile and incorrect as denying the Holocaust, and just as morally repugnant.
So again, if you want to fly / display / wear the confederate flag on private property, or on your person, car. boat, whatever - that's your right and privilege. I am not trying to take that away from you. To have that same flag displayed by a government, be it local, state, or federal, is morally wrong.
I realize that taking down the flag will not cure any of the ills fostered on society by the "babbling idiots" who buy into the white supremacy spiel. It's long past time that the flag is recognized for what it represents, and relegated to a museum. For what it's worth, I also fought for this country, with the scars to show for it. The heritage we should be celebrating is freedom and equality for all, not just for some ........
the times, they are a'changin .... and that's a good thing.
