"Opinion: Confederate flag was the flag of traitors," Carson Wright, 5th Period

Political comedian Dean Obeidallah contends that while the Confederate flag's role as a symbol of racism is debatable, it is irrefutable that it is a symbol of the Confederacy's betrayal of the Union. Obeidallah argues that such is so based on the fact that the seceding states of the Civil War Era broke away to form a new nation, elect a new president and congress, issue their own currency, and fight against the remaining northern fragment of the Union with their own army. Furthermore, the "Confederate flag" wasn't actually the flag of the confederacy; it was the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. In modern/pop culture, it can be seen at tea party rallies, for sale on Kanye West's new tour, and two high school students brought a Confederate flag to school after another student brought a gay pride flag to school. Based on speeches made by Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, this breakaway nation view the United States as a sworn enemy, as he repeatedly addressed them accordingly. In 1861, Jefferson Davis stated that it is a "great truth that the negro is not equal to white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition." Obeidallah concludes his article by contending that the Confederate has but one place in which it should be displayed: the history museums.

I would not even agree with Obeidallah's first point, that one could "debate whether the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism." It is and always has been a symbol of racism; the quote from Jefferson Davis included in the article and in the above summary should be proof enough of that. This flag is emblematic of racism in the same way that the SS Sig runes are emblematic of Nazism (which is an ideology often paired with the ideology of the heirs of the Confederacy). In all other respects, though, Obeidallah is spot on. This is a flag that represents betrayal, hatred, turmoil, war. It is nothing good, and nothing good can come of it.

In the article, Obeidallah states that he "saw it fly at a recent tea party rally in Washington." If anything worries me, it is that; that there is a mainstream, current political party that holds such a flag as an acceptable symbol. Hopefully, the commonwealth contains enough sensible individuals so as to sway today's America from even entertaining such ideologies.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/25/opinion/obeidallah-confederate-flag/index.html?hpt=us_mid