Originally posted by s4
i didn't say you had to agree with their beliefs. the fact remains that several of the states tried to break away and form their own government. these were Americans and they fought on American soil. that makes the Confederate flag part of our history like it or not.
I was born in Alabama in a little town fifty miles east of Birmingham. We moved to Tallahassee, FL when I was just three months old, and that's where I grew up. That makes me a southerner, geographically speaking. I do not fly the Confederate flag, though, and I do not believe that it represents freedom, or anything benevolent. It is a symbol of slavery. The doctrine of states' rights was simply the assertion that some governments have the authority to deny the natural rights of man to some humans; to decide which humans are really human, and which are not.
At one time, the Florida capitol building had on display the five flags of Florida, those flags which have flown over Florida at one time or another. They included the Spanish, French (fleur de lis), British, Confederate and US flags. I saw nothing wrong with such a display, since it was intended to illustrate the history of Florida rather than make an ideological statement. The flags did not fly on the cupola of the building, and they were not placed above our national flag. The Confederate flag on display was not the battle flag one typically associates with the south, and most people wouldn't even recognize it as a symbol of the CSA. It wasn't given any prominence over the other flags, it was just part of the display.
Governor Bush recently had all the flags (except the US and state flags) taken down to head off any controversy. In a way, that's a shame. It is silly to deny, or try to hide, the history of our state in order to avoid offending the sensibilities of the super-sensitive. The flags were moved to a place inside the capitol, so they are still on display, just not as prominently.
(Slow week, s4?)
