Salute the Flag

So there is a lot of discussion about this country and its history and current issues with race. I have tried to keep an eye on things as always and give perspective if asked. I was recently asked about a particular topic, which is the Confederate Flag. I would ask that you keep an open mind on what I think and what you could think. Bear in mind that I am offering my perspective which is opinion that I always try to base on facts and logic not just emotion as I fear happens far to often these days.

     Full transparency I had written a whole paragraph going off on a tangent, but I deleted it to focus in on this topic. I'll stay on point, but there are some other related things I want to post about.

     So anyway let me start with a little background for those who don't know me. I was born and raised in the south. I am proud of  being from Tennessee. I am also proud to be an American. So question me all you want, but that is who I am. I have lived in urban areas and now live in a rural area. I have seen the confederate flag flying in both places, though it is more pronounced in rural areas I would say. I grew up learning Tennessee history and seeing monuments and battlefields from the civil war. I also live and work with people I know that display the confederate flag. 

     So here is my perspective. The US was one country from 1776 to 1860. Then there was a civil war from 1860 to 1865. Then from 1865 till now we have existed as one country. Even as we were at war this has always been the US. Every thing good and bad is a part of this country, including the Confederacy. We cannot erase it or any wars we have been in, right or wrong, or for that matter the institution of slavery. An important person once said that if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. We should not be afraid to learn about our history so I am not for just destroying this flag to erase it from history. 

     That being said, in my opinion, people flying the Confederate flag, in its varied forms, and whether intently or innocently, are dividing us instead of unifying. This is the United States of America. We were America for many years before the civil war and have been for many years since. Forget race or heritage or any notion for a second and just think about the fact that people want to fly the flag of a foe of the United States. The flag for a group that fought a war against the United Stated and lost. The fact that people are fighting so hard and base their heritage and the identity of the south on the years of the confederacy is preposterous. You and your family's history, and the history of the south is not just 1860-1865. 

     If you are going to fly a flag, its the US flag, which has all the heritage and history of every part of the US within those stars and stripes. Every achievement, failure, valor, heroic act, and even despicable circumstance is already in it. The Confederate flag will never and has never stood for a united America. So lets unify behind the US flag instead of continuing to divide ourselves behind the Confederate flag.