I personally do not understand how people can believe in what the Confederate flag, or more properly, the Confederate Battle flag, stands for. It is extremely insensitive toward African-American people. The events of history give the flag certain meanings of racism that cannot be erased or ignored. The flag represents a time and place when whites had control over the lives of another group of people, a place and time when not everyone had the right to be treated equally. The fact that southerners who still fly this flag think that it “isn’t offensive anymore because that’s in the past,” or that it “represents the valor of soldiers who died fighting for what they believed in,” or even that it is “heritage” shows a disturbing level of insensitivity to a major group of Americans.

Saying that it’s “honoring the southern soldiers who died fighting during the Civil War,” reveals that the person who is flying this flag also honors what the soldiers were fighting for: the right to own slaves. The desire to honor the deceased soldiers, however, is best done by honoring them at their graves. To fly the Confederate Battle flag is to express all of the symbolism it contains. The Confederate Battle flag has extensive controversy and symbolism behind it, yet people still choose to fly it. Because of the fact that flags are defined as symbols, flying the flag to honor soldiers implies belief in the symbol for which the soldiers died. People from differing ethnicities, heritages, education levels and incomes seem to view the symbols of the flag differently. In South Carolina’s “Declaration of Succession” stated that “encroachments upon the reserved rights of the state, fully justified this State in then withdrawing from the Federal Union; but in defence to the opinions and wishes of the other slaveholding States, she forbore at that time [1852] to exercise this right.” In this document of secession, half of it is a complaint that the North no longer accepts slavery. The flag may have differing meanings to different people, but underneath the representation of heritage, honor, etc, the historical fact of slavery and the racism related to it continues.

Every time I see the Confederate Battle flag, I can’t understand how a person can still be mentally stuck in a war that happened over 150 years ago to end slavery. The South seceded from the North so that the South could own slaves. Remarkably, some southerners who still decide to show their Confederate pride are not driven by heritage or honoring southern Civil War soldiers, but by racism. Symbols can express opposing views between groups of people, but being considerate of what citizens other than oneself believe it symbolizes is important. Everyone has a right to free speech, something we all cherish dearly, but personal and ethical limits have to come into account when putting a person’s own opinion out for the world to see.

Right now in time, unity of all races and ethnicities is very important. The United States is in a tough place currently, where many groups cannot come together because of conflicting opinions. Much of this hatred between groups is driven by racism, and our current president is not helping demote racism in any manner. Barriers like the Confederate Battle flag impose hardships between races, and not flying symbols that offend an entire race of people would be a significant step toward unifying the United States.