South Carolina and the Confederate Flag

Some say a picture can say a thousand words, and while this is true, this flag says even more. Since the civil war, the confederate flag has flown throughout numerous southern states, but over the last several decades it has begun to disappear from state property. The confederate flag once flew atop the South Carolina Capital building, but during the last decade South Carolinians have seen it taken down and moved to the confederate memorial that stands in front of the state house.

While moving the flag from the top of the state house allow for a brief peace in the issue, it has now been moved again to the forefront. Organizations such as the NAACP and several other civil rights organizations are strongly pushing for the flag to be removed entirely from the state house grounds. These organizations claim that the flag represents the injustices and oppressions that were caused by slavery and the racism that it caused. It is the constant debate between the anti and pro flag groups that have brought this issue to the forefront in South Carolina.

Some wrongs that occur in this world will never be able to be corrected and slavery is one of them. Starting in the most ancient of civilizations, leaders have sought free labor and slavery was created to provide it. The end of the civil war brought the end of slavery in the modern western civilization, but it did not stop the oppression to African Americans. The civil rights movement has come a very long way, but signs of racial injustice can still be seen throughout the nation. While the confederate flag does not directly present any racial injustices it represents a period in time where these injustices were very predominate. It is this symbol that can stimulate unnecessary pains for those who have had been a part of the struggle.

Those who are pro flag believe that the flag should fly because that it honors those who fought in the civil war and represents a very significant period in American history. In a sense the founding of the confederacy was very similar to the United States of American. Although South Carolina did not necessarily desire to be part of the confederacy, being one of the only states to assure there would be no punishment for leaving the confederacy, South Carolinians did not like their current way of life to be threatened. Slavery was a very significant part of the southern economy and emancipating the slaves would have devastated the economy by removing much of the free labor, thus the southern way of life was threatened. Similar to the American Revolution, as Great Britain began to impose numerous laws and taxes on the colonies, the southern states began to succeed from the union and form the confederacy. Those who are pro flag are not trying to make those offend suffer by having the flag fly, but rather honor those who fought for and defend a cause they believed to be just.