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This Week's Attitude
One specific topic that some consider a sign of enduring racism is the Confederate flag, of which there are elements of in the flags of at least three southern states that refuse to remove it from capitol buildings where it waves alongside the Stars and Stripes. Supporters perceive it as an emblem of their proud heritage and many third and fourth generation citizens undoubtedly concur with that reasoning. Yet, to some Americans, regardless of race, there's no more disgraceful symbol in this nation's history than the Confederate flag. The controversy, which was recently revived in Montgomery, Alabama where former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, is essentially not about the flag's historical implication to Southerners - what they still refer to as their struggle for independence from the "tyranny and aggression of northern states" - but about whether it's appropriate to fly a flag that, in the eyes of some, will always signify oppression and hatred.
After the Civil War the public display of the Confederate flag was illegal in states occupied by Federal troops. But it resurfaced when Southern states raised the flag or incorporated it into their state flag in the early part of the 20th century then decades later when segregationists employed it as a defiant stance against orders from federal authorities for equality for blacks. During World War II, military units that consisted largely of Southerners proudly displayed the flag as their unofficial emblem. Some soldiers even carried Confederate flags into battle. During the Republican presidential primary in 2000, Republican contenders, including Sen. John McCain, skirted the issue claiming it was a state matter. Democrat candidates then were outspoken about their opposition against the flag on public buildings. A year later, following pressure from residents and threats of economic boycotts, the South Carolina state Legislature voted to remove the Confederate banner from the statehouse. Likewise, most Southern states no longer fly the Confederate flag over government buildings, though it can be seen at historical monuments commemorating the Civil War. Last week, Giuliani refused to criticize the flying of the Confederate flag over the state capitol. His contention was that the decision was a state, not a federal, matter. A cynic, like me, might have speculated that that particular question was purposely raised to allow "America's mayor" to sway fence-sitting Southern voters, since the Confederate flag hasn't flown over Alabama's capitol building for 15 years. In fact, few states even fly it on public buildings or incorporate it in their state flags. Nonetheless Giuliani's response was as clear as a possum on a log at 30 yards. He replied like most presidential candidates typically do - by pandering to a local constituency hoping to secure votes in next winter's GOP primary. His pro-abortion stance is more likely to influence conservative voters than his argument that the Confederate flag is nothing more than a local issue. Giuliani was not just trying to sway a bunch of uneducated rednecks. He is well aware, as is anyone with a high school education, that the Confederate flag is much more than a regional issue. Tens of thousands of Southerners died in battle under the banner of the flag in the Civil War trying to preserve, among other things, a traditional way of life that for hundreds of years kept human beings of African ancestry in bondage and forced labor. Though the Confederate flag was only a symbol of a group of rebellious states for a brief period, it, nevertheless, represents centuries of cruel and inhuman treatment of millions. For that solitary reason it is unworthy of a place on any government building in this nation.
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