I grew up in Kentucky, technically a state loyal to the Union, but being a border state loyalties were divided and often members of the same household served on opposite sides. As a previous poster accurately stated it was called The War of Northern Aggression by many in the south. I had a great-great grandfather who served on each side of the conflict. I have spent many years studying my family history and the gggfather who fought for the Confederacy owned no slaves so I doubt he fought and died to protect other’s rights to do so. The war was about more than just slavery. It was also about the economy, resources, and states rights in an era where people felt the government had become radical and too controlling. (Ring any bells?) Much like the issues that led to the American Revolution. I am no less or more proud of one ancestor over another and I make no claim to know what their personal motivations were at the time. Just as no one knows what that person’s motivation is for flying that flag in the Village of Richmond. Maybe they’re saying it’s time for another civil war. Maybe they are history buffs and the Civil War was their area of expertise. Maybe they are just proud of their southern heritage, and not because of slavery necessarily. There are areas of the country today where conversations are being had about secession by serious and intelligent people. Whether or not they are right is very subjective, but their right to discuss whatever they want is not.
At any rate, we are grown people here who have lived through a lot of history and an overwhelming amount of change. We have all been exposed to many radical ideas over the course of our fairly long lives and we have survived. Our skins should be thick enough to be able to handle being around people of differing ideas without melting down. The day they outlaw the right to have differing opinions is the day you should really start to worry, not the day you see a piece of cloth of a certain design on a flagpole.
|