So for years, there has been a 9/11 flag display at Kastman Park in Lubbock. The students from Miller Elementary school participate in setting out the flags http://lubbockonline.com/news/local-news/2017-09-08/flag-tribute-911-aided-miller-students.
Although I live within a mile of the park, some years I go, some years I do not. This year I did go to the park. I am always amazed to see the people who visit: Seniors. Seniors with grandchildren. Young families with small children. Lone visitors.
I am grateful that my community, a bank, and a school supports this display.
The shooting of 9 black people at Emanuel AME Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting last week has awoken a controversy about the Confederate Flag "Stars and Bars" flying at the Capitol in South Carolina. The history of the flag and its use at the state capitol in South Carolina is well documented by NPR http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/22/416548613/the-complicated-political-history-of-the-confederate-flag. Gov. Nikki Haley has changed her mind about removing the flag from the Capitol http://www.salon.com/2014/10/15/nikki_haley_its_ok_to_have_the
_confederate_flag_at_the_statehouse_because_not_a_single_ceo_has_complained/.
The symbolism of the flag is conflicting: some see it as a symbol of history, heritage, ancestry and pride. Many see it a symbol of hatred, racism, segregation, and discrimination. I saw a post on Facebook by someone who said he saw the flag as a symbol of bikers, country and western music, and rebellion. This may be his take on the flag, but for many more people it is a hurtful symbol associated with such things as the Ku Klux Klan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan, white supremacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy, and Jim Crow laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws.
I heard, loud and clear when Norman Brannon http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0184659069, a representative of South Carolina, from a very conservative part of the state, say he would sponsor a bill to have the Confederate Flag removed from the state Capitol. He said he did not do his job: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/21/politics/south-carolina-confederate-flag-debate/.
Wal-Mart has announced it will removed Confederate Flag products http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-23/wal-mart-to-remove-confederate-flag-products-in-wake-of-shooting.
Living in the South, loving people who have pride in their Southern Heritage, I understand the feelings of identity to the heritage. But the flag is a lie, and only became widely celebrated as a symbol against the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Its symbolism has been glorified, but the symbolism of hatred it portrays has been ignored or glossed over.
It is history. On a private basis, we cannot ban the Confederate Flag. And if there are people out there who do believe it speaks of pride and glory, they can tout the flag. But I do not have to agree with that. And governments in the United States do not need to support that.
I choose Peace. I choose the symbols of Peace.
