Recently I signed the petition to have the confederate flag removed from all government offices. At the same time I find it ridiculous that Wal-Mart stopped selling the confederate flag. I’ve seen a lot of social media traffic regarding this, both in support of the flag and against it. The funny thing is most of these blogs are completely off the mark relative to defense of free speech and state rights, etc.
I felt it necessary to blog my thoughts on this as they relate to this recent hot topic and have too much to say for a quick FB status update.
So let me first state my position(s) then explain the reasoning behind my choice(s). In the process I will, hopefully, uncover several crimes against logic that are infecting cyberspace and our brains.
Position 1: No government office (or official) should engage in speech or display words or symbols in support of a singular position or belief that is divisive, or not in support of the fundamental ideals outlined in our constitution that exists to support the common good for ALL people.
Position 2: We live in a free country and any person should be allowed to say, and/or do, and/or display anything they want on their body or property as long as it does not directly endanger another person’s life, call for others to harm people or our country, or slander another person. (Hate speech hurts people’s feelings but it only slanders those who engage in it.)
I’m no lawyer and not a very good writer so pardon the weak attempt at legalese, but you get the point.
Now I’ll try to explain the reasoning behind my first position.
Independently of the confederate flag issue I was recently inspired to write about how offensive it is to me to hear people say “This is a Christian nation”. I’ll write about that in a separate blog but the nature of the offence has similar roots as that of the confederate flag. Basically what is offensive is not the flag or even its history but that it is being displayed at a government facility. A court-house, city hall, state capital, etc. are all places that exist to provide for the welfare of all people in this country. For the same reason I am opposed to the 10 commandments or other biblical inspired art works adorning these offices. Not because I am opposed to the bible. Indeed our constitution allows for freedom of religion to ALL of our citizens. But this is exactly why it is offensive to adorn a civil facility with biblical words and symbols. Judaism and Christianity are NOT the only religions protected by our constitution. When any person approaches a civil institution they are most likely there for assistance in exercising their rights as citizens; get a license, get permission to do something, pay taxes, request financial assistance, attend a court hearing, etc. Whatever the nature of the visit they are there as a citizen or resident of this country and their community to participate in a civil process that respects ALL people as being equal in every way. Imagine walking up to such a building and being filled with dread because, regardless of the constitution, you know that you will not be treated as an equal or with respect because you do not believe what is written over the doorway. I’ll leave the religious arguments for another blog but I think I’ve made my point. Certain objects, words or symbols, serve only to indicate to some people that they are “outsiders” and by definition unwelcome. If you’ve never felt this way good for you, you’ve lived a charmed life. But I think most people can relate to this.
So, what about state rights! I know you’re thinking it. Why shouldn’t the mayor of a city or governor of a state be protected by the same rights regarding free speech as all other citizens, after all they are citizens.
Well let me think about it, they are. That’s right I agree, being a public servant does not diminish your rights. But it does demand more responsibility and a greater sensitivity to all people. Even if it isn’t illegal to say something or make a decision that is perceived a racist it is at the very least doing your job poorly and likely career suicide. But we’re not talking about a person we are talking about large civil institutions that serve the public. No one can fault a public official with being human and having an opinion but we all deserve to feel at home in our civil institutions.
Ok, you’re probably thinking “good point”. Thanks. But shouldn’t the people be allowed to vote on the issue and shouldn’t that be a state right? I mean if everyone in a certain state was a Nazi (and the neo-Nazi party in the US has tried this) then shouldn’t they have the right to unanimously vote to make a Nazi state? There is a flaw in this argument that extends, in my opinion, to those who oppose gay marriage and other related issues of the day. While it is true that the states were intended to have the right to govern themselves they are not endowed with the right to make laws that are in opposition to the basic rights of all people (all citizens or residents of this country). If all the racists in America wanted to get up and move to a particular state and if by coincidence they were the only people living in that state I assert that the constitution would not guarantee them the right to pass local laws that endangered the welfare of Americans not living in their state who may pass though. And that is at the crux of this debate. People, like me, who are opposed to the confederate flag being displayed on public land are not necessarily opposed to people exercising their right to free speech or even the flag itself but that a civil institution shouldn’t make some people feel welcome and others not welcome.
I hope you see my point even if you don’t completely agree with it. I may not have expressed myself perfectly and the argument may not be iron clad, but if I were handing it in to my logic professor I know I can make it iron clad.
There is, however, one more point we didn’t really discuss. The slander of this symbol. I have seen posts which assert that the southern confederate flag was not originally a symbol associated in any way with slavery or racism. I am not convinced that is true but for sake of argument let’s assume that it is. So what. Even if the men who pledged allegiance to it (or a variant of it) in the 1860’s didn’t have a racist bone in their bodies (and I’m sure many of them did) and only wanted to be free of big government control, history changes the meaning of symbols and you cannot reverse that process. Maybe it’s true that modern-day white supremacists injected hate into a symbol that was not originally associated with hate. That doesn’t really matter. For thousands of years the Swastika was (and still is) a sacred symbol of the Hindu religion and (to the best of my knowledge) NEVER associated with antisemitism or ill will towards the Jewish people. But Adolf Hitler came along and adopted it for his “party”. Context changes the meaning of things and the original intent is meaningless. Like it or not, it is what it is.
So, for this reason I do believe that the confederate flag should not be displayed on public land or civil institutions alongside the stars and stripes or instead of it. The only exception would be as part of an educational display in a museum.
If you want one for yourself any person should be able to go to the store and buy a southern confederate flag to proudly display at their home. Oh wait, not any more. What a stupid place we live in. I can buy Mien Kampf on Amazon and most book other book stores but I can’t buy a F#$%-ing confederate flag if I want one? Why. This is the beginning of my attempt to explain my second position.
I think this will be an easier argument to make than the previous one. In a nut shell we sell all kinds of stuff to all kinds of people because we’re a free country and we’re free to express our opinions and beliefs even if they offend. I know it seems like a contradiction but if I explained myself well and you followed it you should understand that it isn’t. What I can do as a private citizen and entrepreneur is quite a bit different from what we should expect of our civil institutions and behavior of public officials. It makes no sense to restrict the behavior of citizens beyond that which ensures everyone’s safety. Besides I appreciate the telegraphing (like when a drunk idiot tries to throw a punch and you see it a mile away). It allows me to prepare for the worst. Let people be assholes, then you know who the assholes are and where they live. Don’t think for one minute that they’re not tracking where you live if you’re the kind of person on their shit list. You can’t stop people from thinking what they want to think. But when you force them to bite their tongue and not express themselves eventually they’ll pop. I’d rather see a Nazi tattoo or a confederate flag on a t-shirt then see another mass killing on TV. Clearly there are limits to what a business should be allowed to sell and to whom but that’s irrelevant to this discussion. Within the limits of what is legal if a store want’s to sell a bunch of odd ball symbols to people who want them to wear or display at home there is nothing wrong with that. I do not believe that selling all sorts of old flags related to history to private citizens should be illegal, or even a point of contention among citizens of a free country.
There are a few other odds and ends I’d like to discuss in closing. In response to the flag issue there have been a lot a ridiculous things posted on social media. One of my favorites is a picture of the pyramids that states “When will we remove these 3000 year old symbols of slavery”. That’s a cute one. But I don’t know what it’s trying to say. Who are “we”. We the people of the United States Of America have no jurisdiction over Egyptian property built over 3000 years ago by Jewish slave labor. Those pyramids are not sitting in front of the White House. Perhaps this person thought that US law extended to all nations. We don’t think that way. That would be imposing our will on others. We can implement laws in our land in a way that is consistent with the constitution but the existence of a slave symbol in Egypt does not validate the confederate flag in the USA. Another pic was of a bunch of folks at a white pride rally (or so it appeared). There was a person wrapped in (or waving) a confederate flag and standing next to them was a young lady wearing a Nazi Swastika t-shirt. I’m not sure what the hell the connection is. In the 1930s and 1940s in Germany many Jews were seen standing next to men wearing that symbol. Does that mean they were all racist Nazi sympathizers? Maybe the person who made that facebook pic thinks so. Context gives things meaning and more context give them new meaning.
All I can think now after having all these unrelated symbols burned into my brain is that in 1861 South America fought a war with Egypt to free the Jews who later moved to India to escape persecution. That’s not good for anyone.
If you are trying to convince other people that your position is worth listening to then do a better job.
Copyright 2015, David R Bergman