Last week I wondered why more heritage folks aren’t upset with the way the Confederate flag has been marketed in popular culture. I suggested that most kids who wear the Confederate flag probably have no understanding of the history behind the symbol. Here is a case in point:
I asked one girl who had the [Confederate] flag on her notebook and her backpack what it really stood for other than just Southern pride, and she said, “It was when the rebels rebelled against the king.” Now, either she is confused with the Revolution and our Stars and Stripes, or believes Lincoln’s government was a monarchy.
I’m betting on general confusion.
I say this as a northerner who would never dream of displaying a confederate flag: Putting aside the ignorance of history it demonstrates, isn’t this an interesting development, suggesting as it does that symbols can be transformed? A symbol is not inherently good or evil; it depends on the message the person displaying it intends to convey.
Very true…the “rebel” flag’s background is very misconstrued in the minds of not only kids but also adults in the modern world.
It is often the result of misleading education or the lack of explanation from another who actually have proof that the war was not about slavery until Lincoln made it about slavery half way through the war.
Do not get me wrong, there is proof of such ideas of states rights, but it just hasn’t been tought in so many places. It’s like when you ask “What country did the American Colonist fight for their independence in the 1760-80’s?” You will probably get, ‘The Mexicans’.
I have always wandered, what are people thinking in History class…certainly not about history.
Thanks,
Judson