A Southern View
An American controversy depicted by the thoughts of a Texan
By Alexa Conner
I am a proud Texas native. My whole family was born and raised in the great state of Texas. I can remember from a very young age my dad instilling Texas and Southern pride into my brain. On one hand, I was taught Southern manners like “yes sir” and “yes ma’am,” but on the other hand, part of my Southern pride I learned growing up was about the Civil War and the use of Confederate flag. The Confederate flag is something that I have grown accustomed to seeing everywhere, including in my own house.
The flag was a representation of my Southern pride. It never symbolized hatred or racism to me. In fact, part of my rich Southern beliefs include chivalry, which is something the new connotation of this flag degrades. After looking at the 2013 YouGov survey, I learned that a slight majority of Americans actually share the same view as me in that the flag represents a symbol of Southern heritage rather than a symbol of racism. Although many people view the Confederate flag as a symbol of the South, a bigger issue comes about as to how the flag should be used. Can we separate the two symbols represented by the Confederate flag? Is there any way the flag can be rehabilitated and used in a positive way?
According to a Pew Research Center survey a majority of the American population has neither a positive nor negative reaction to the confederate flag at all. So if most Americans don’t have strong negative reactions to the flag, why are the flags being banned from the statehouse grounds? Because there are lives being lost over this the controversy of this flag. We must ask ourselves if there is a way to separate pain and hate from the symbol of the Confederate flag.
Although I do not use the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism, there are many instances where the flag has been used to symbolize racism in the 20th century. For example, the flag has been used by the Ku Klux Klan in many situations. Interpretations and symbols are formed about specific things from situations like this. No matter how much we try, I firmly believe that there can never be a way to separate the racial ideals this flag conveys from the Southern pride that it holds.
The only way to ever preserve this historical flag is if it can be rehabilitated and used in a positive way rather than used as a symbol of hatred. A good way we can do this is by using the flag as a reminder of slavery in history even though many disagree about whether the Civil War was particularly over slavery or states rights. We can also use the flag as a symbol of how far America has come in terms of progression in racial equality. Those who think the Confederate flag represents racism, can view the flag as a reminder of how far our country has come from a once discriminatory republic to a stronger developed democracy.
I think people too often emphasize the negative and offensive connotations that the Confederate flag can portray, when we should be using it as a way to strengthen us as a nation. As of right now, the flag is tearing the unity of our country apart. As Americans, we need to take pride in how far we have come as a nation. I think that in order to use the flag in a way that strengthens unity in our country rather weakening it and creating controversy, we need to stop viewing the flag as either a symbol of racism or southern pride/history. Instead, we need to come together as a nation and recognize the progress that has been made and focus on moving forward, while still holding onto and respecting the history that has gotten us to where we are today.
