I have had this post percolating for a couple of weeks.  With all the hoopla surrounding (VA) Gov. McDonnell’s Confederate history proclamation, I decided this would be as good a time as any to post it.

People Get Upset

In a discussion lately about a mixed-up elderly woman who confused her state flag (of Ohio) with this one (above), a friend commented that she would have to boycott any store that flew this flag.  I was frustrated and disappointed to hear yet another expression of mis-education about the meaning of this flag.

Unfortunately, upon seeing this (the Confederate battle flag, which also happens to be the best-known of the Confederate flags), many Americans are offended.  Why?  Because they see it as racist, support of a nation that fought for the right to own other human beings.  While there may be a racist few who do intend it this way, the majority of us do not, and support of the South is rarely, if ever, support for slavery.

It Was Never About Slavery

Contrary to popular misinformation (perpetuated by a Federally-dominated educational system and, not incidentally, the victors of the so-called “Civil War”), the War Between the States was not (at least not originally or primarily) about slavery. The Southern states were upset because they felt they were being unduly oppressed by the Federal government, and not being fairly represented (both issues which, I might add, we are still dealing with today).

In the same spirit as the Revolutionaries (George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, etc.), they chose to remove themselves from this tyrannical government and form their own, separate nation.  At which point the power-hungry dictator Lincoln made it clear that he was more willing to beat us up, kill us off, and rape our land and families than to allow us to leave quietly.

What Does this Flag Mean? Share on X

For the South as a whole, the war was never about slavery.  It was not about “white supremacy” or “white rights”; it was about States’ rights — the right of the individual states to govern themselves as they saw fit, without undue interference from the Feds.  These men gave their lives, not to be able to own others, but to protect the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, which were being ignored by those in power.

But Lincoln Made it About Slavery

At that point in history, the right to secede from the Union was one generally recognized — including by those in the north.  It was looking as though England and France might come fight for us, as well.  So Lincoln had to do something.  What he did was make it about slavery, publicly speaking, so that outside support for the South would die down.  His Emancipation Proclamation was nothing but great politics — a speech that sounded good, but without any actual power behind it.  (It freed slaves only in those states where he currently had no control.)

Ultimately, when the North won the war and the slaves actually were freed, it wasn’t entirely a good thing.  Not that they were free from slavery (which was a good thing), but how it was done.  (More on this in a whole post tomorrow/Tuesday, so if you want to chew me up and spit me out, please at least wait and read that first.)  There was a sudden flooding of dark-skinned Americans into the workplace, most of whom owned nothing, had nowhere to go, were not educated (because of limitations placed on them up to this point, not due to their choices or abilities), and could not find people to hire them (because the sudden forcing of this “break” upon the American people meant that the people were not prepared for this new way of life).  Thus, the creation of the welfare system which has enslaved generations of dark-skinned Americans in stark disproportion to other segments of the population.  The Federal government is still doing us all harm — black and white alike!

What We Southerners Really Mean

So when I fly my Confederate flag, or say I’m proud to be Southern, or when I seek to commemorate my heritage as a Southerner, I am not supporting slavery or racism.  I’m saying that I’m proud to live in a state whose heritage includes valiant men who were willing to fight and die in the spirit of the Revolutionaries: for my rights as an American and my state’s rights as a State.  I am grateful to have been left a legacy of willingness to fight against tyranny.

[For more information, I recommend The Real Lincoln and When in the Course of Human Events (‘though I don’t agree with every single thing in them; When in the Course of Human Events has a discussion of evolution, for instance, near the end).  And if you still don’t believe that states retain the right of secession, you might find it interesting to do a little bit of research on the states that currently have resolutions threatening secession if the Federal government continues on its current track.]