Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The Confederate flag

Symbols carry a lot of weight and meaning.

Take for example the crucifix. Its actually a terrible torture instrument. Millions of people - men, women and children were crucified by being nailed to a wooden structure - the cross. And they died in appalling agonizing pain. Its one of the worse ways to be killed. But now its being used a decoration, jewelry, and even ironically enough a religious symbol of peace. God must be having a good laugh about that.

The Confederate flag is another symbol.

The symbol of the Confederate flag - which is derived from a Battle Flag of a Confederate Army - is based on a desire to pretend that the Confederate soldiers did not fight or die in vain. Unfortunately, they did. They died fighting for the wrong cause - they fought for States Rights yes - but the State's rights to own african slaves. Those Confederate soldiers died just as valiantly as the brave Nazi soldiers died fighting in WW2. Their heroic efforts were just as useless as the Japanese kamikazes and soldiers who died fighting to the last man and bullet for their God Emperor.

Their efforts were in vain. They died for nothing. They started a war that they could not win. The enemy trashed their land. Their economy fell. All for nothing. This awful fact is too terrible for many to contemplate. So they carry the Confederate flag and sing Dixie - basking in nostalgia and false memories - because the truth is too awful to accept.

Jesus said the truth will set us free. That is true. But the truth also hurts. It is painful to accept the truth. In some respects it requires a certain moral courage to accept it. Brave soldiers who were prepared to hurl themselves against enemy gunfire and face certain death - often do not have it in them to refuse to obey morality wrong orders.

I used to think of war as a glory - instead the awful truth is that a lot of people will die and suffer for nothing.

I wish I could see more war memorials which state the truth

"A stupid war that should never have happened"

"A war fought because men wanted to debate the finer points of democratic government by slaughtering 750,000 men and destroying the lives of countless families"

"This General was great because he made 100,000 of his countrywomen wives and beggars."

America has very little to celebrate about over its Civil War particularly the South.

The Confederate Flag like the Nazi flag should be seen as utter failures - symbols of human stupidity.

No comments: