Van, having just heard your comments regarding the meaning of the Confederate flag during your conversation with Don Lemon as the flag comes down, I am compelled to write, to thank you for discussing the true history of this symbol of hatred and violence; finally, someone articulated what I have been thinking. When supporters of this flag talk about its representing Southern pride, history, and culture, they are forgetting what all this means: Confederate soldiers were traitors, fighting against their own country and government, and what they were fighting for was the right of southern states to keep the system of slavery. Is this the kind of history that should be celebrated? As was also mentioned, how would we feel if the Nazi flag were flown in public, much less on public property supported by tax payers, some of whom are Jews? In Germany, nothing bearing the swastika symbol is allowed, not even on personal property, yet in the U.S., anything goes, under the guise of freedom of speech. Words and symbols have power, both to hurt and to heal, and this nation should revisit what freedom of speech means, both in terms of what its true meaning was by the framers of the Constitution, and what it means for our times. I also find it interesting that this government had no problem shutting down the Black Panthers, even though they existed for defensive purposes, and to accomplish good in the community, while the Klan still exists, still fomenting hatred and violence, yet they and their tactics are protected under freedom of speech. Perhaps it's time to revisit the true meaning of the First Amendment; surly it did not mean what it's been interpreted as meaning by hate groups. Thanks again for illuminating the real history of the Confederate flag.
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