Heritage or Hate?

        

        The Confederate Flag has always been a symbol in our country that has brought about constant controversy over what message the flag is really conveying. Like most controversial issues, you are going to get a different answer from each person you ask. If you were to ask the men who own those trucks what the flag stood for, they would most likely respond by saying, "tradition, heritage, the southern way of life, respect to confederate soldiers, or states rights". If you were to ask someone else, you may hear them say that it stands for "hate, racism, or states rights...to own slaves". 

        To me, the Confederate Flag stands for hate and racism. When people fly it they are arguing the exact same thing that the south was arguing before and during the war; that the slaves should not be freed and the South should be left alone. Regardless of what other issues people claim the Civil War was fought over, it was mainly centered around slavery. The Confederate Flag itself may stand for the way of life in the South at the time, but that way of life was slavery. It is no different than people who proudly display the Swastika, sure, you can argue that it stands for national pride and an attempt to better an economy without the use of either capitalism or communism, but regardless of how people defend it, it still stands for the hatred and torture of humans. The Image that most all Americans get when they see the Confederate Flag is pure, ignorant hatred.