My Thoughts on the Confederate Flag Issue

Okay. It’s time. I’ve made a few comments on facebook recently about this issue, but I thought I’d go into a little bit more depth here and try to explain my feelings on this issue. First of all, let me start out by asking you a question? Is it possible for one to be against the flag and yet, at the same time, feel that it should not be removed from the State House grounds? My answer is yes, I think it is possible to be both against the flag and against the decision to remove it, all at the same time. Please allow me to explain.

When discussing whether or not to remove the flag, you must understand that the flag is no longer flying on top the State House as it once was years ago. Up until yesterday morning, the flag could be seen flying above the Confederate Memorial on State House grounds, and it is my understanding that, although the flag has been removed, the memorial itself will remain in place. This is just something that, for the life of me, I cannot understand. If the Confederate flag is considered offensive to a multitude of people, wouldn’t you think that the Confederate Memorial that the flag was flying over would be considered just as offensive by the same people? That being said, what good is it going to do to remove one and leave the other? If they are indeed equally offensive, as I believe they should be, remove them both or leave them both. It is pointless to take one without the other.

On the same note, if we are going to remove the Confederate flag from the SC State House grounds due to its “racist” history, we’re going to have to remove a whole lot more than the flag. For example, our US capital is named after George Washington who, at the time of his death, had 316 slaves living at Mount Vernon. Of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence, forty-one owned slaves. Are we going to erase all their names from history too, or perhaps boycott the Declaration of Independence itself? Despite how we feel about the Confederate flag, I think the only sensible way to look at it is as a part of American history. If you don’t like the past that it represents, you can still look at it as reminder of the present that exists in spite of that past.

Lastly and most importantly, I believe we need to think long and hard about the message that the removal of the Confederate flag at this particular time is sending to our children and those around us. This flag was not removed as a result of a change of heart among the people of South Carolina. No. It was removed because some crazed lunatic who just happened to post a picture of himself holding the Confederate flag took the lives of nine innocent black Americans in the state of South Carolina. As a result, the suggestion was made to remove the Confederate flag from the State House grounds, and it was done. But did removing the flag bring those nine people back from the dead? No. Will the absence of that flag prevent another black-hearted murderer from committing the same act? The answer again is no. In fact, I personally believe the removal of the Confederate flag from the SC State House grounds will only help to fuel another attack, because anyone thinking of committing such a crime will now see that they will not be the only one blamed for whatever crime they are planning to commit.

If you hear nothing else I say today, hear this. Ronald Reagan once said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” I don’t care who you are, how you were raised, or what you have been through in your lifetime. If you commit a crime of any sort, it is no one’s fault but your own. The Confederate flag did not take the lives of nine innocent people who had gathered to worship at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. No. A cold-blooded murderer did that. It is time to start putting the blame where it really belongs and stop exploiting the killing of innocent people to further your political agenda.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life today, I invite you to come to do so before it is eternally too late for you. If you will turn from all sin and trust Christ alone to save you, He will save you today and keep you saved forever.