Let’s be very clear about something. The Confederate flag is not a symbol of the United States. It was one of the symbols of a rebellion against the United States. It stood for secession and for the continuation of human bondage.
End of story.
The argument is often made that the Confederate flag and the monuments to Confederate soldiers and generals are from our history and should be preserved. Yes, the Confederate rebellion to secede from the Union is part of the history of the United States, and that is where it should stay: as history, in museums, books, lectures, and classrooms. It is a history to remind us of the sinister reality of slavery.
Confederate flags on the back of trucks, in the garage, or at Southern courthouses, are a celebration of that revolt, and that has no place in our active future. They are symbols of oppression from the worst part of our history. They are not symbols of our rebellious nature, as many supporters of Confederate lore claim. They are, rather, symbols of profound ignorance.
After the Civil War a movement began in the South called The Lost Cause. Some Southern historians distorted the war as “a heroic defense of the Southern way of life.” Within that narrative is the idea that slaves were happy and a vital economic institution, and that slavery was not the cause of the war. The United Daughters of the Confederacy used their influence and organized fundraising to create Confederate war memorials all over the South. Their effort was so successful the heroism of the Confederacy became as engrained in the white Southern identity as its rich heritage of music, food, hospitality and magnolias.
We cannot erase the Confederacy from history or believe that by taking down its monuments and flags that the issues raised by it suddenly disappear. What we can do, and must, is stop the celebration of its cause.
Many Southerners see this differently and will not accept their ancestors as treasonous or racists. There is no reason to argue. The deceased cannot defend themselves and their spirits can rest in their personal histories. Misunderstanding the Confederacy also does not necessarily make someone a racist. The flag on the General Lee in “The Dukes of Hazzard” meant rebelliousness; a strong, independent figure in folklore. But this is the day of reckoning as we’ve been invested with a greater understanding of continuing systemic issues. It’s time to find new symbols.
We can go too far. Context is important, and taking down every statue of anyone tangentially connected to the crime creates a misleading story; we don’t cleanse history by removing its artifacts. But we can move into a better future by agreeing not to lionize egregious mistakes. Just as Germany cannot remove all Nazis from its narrative, it also does not allow swastikas to be flown. Germans are ashamed of a past they cannot erase, and do not wish to see it as part of their future. We should feel the same.
