Confederate flag a symbol of defeat

By:

Posted: 2/26/07

As Charlie Daniels put it, "the South's gonna do it again." That is, if "it" means needlessly enrage people with the old Confederate battle flag.

I've lived in the South my entire life, and I like it here, but our Charlie Daniels types never let the Southern Cross issue go away. Just drive around. Or go downtown. The Civil War standard still pops up and I simply don't get why people are so hot for it.

I'm anti-rebel flag, and not because white-hooded goons wave it across burning crosses or because it's the all-but-official redneck emblem. I don't like the flag because it makes us southerners look like a bunch of losers, because lose is definitely what the Confederates did in the "War of Northern Aggression."

Why do some southerners practically revel in their roles as Civil War washouts?

I've never magnetized an "F" report card on my fridge growing up, and I don't save trophies from peewee baseball games I lost. But so many Southerners hold tight to the battle flag - a prominent trophy commemorating failure - and are proud of it.

If the Rebels drove out the Yankees, waving the flag might make sense. But we surrendered. And somehow the losers are rock star heroes, and so is their precious flag.

The Chicago Tribune reported that esteemed rock musician Ted Nugent recently played for Texas Gov. Rick Perry's inauguration wearing a battle flag T-shirt. This didn't go over so well with civil rights groups.

Why did Nugent do it? Did he have a reason? A good reason, besides rebelling against, well, something?

Our beautiful state isn't immune to rebel flag obsession. A version of it was Georgia's official flag up until 2001, and then was displayed at the bottom of the replacement. It's gone now, though the current banner actually is a cutely redone version of yet another Confederate flag. Not really a step up, but whatever.

Supporters often claim the flag instills in them pride for "Southern heritage."

I'm not sure what this heritage is, besides embarking on a failed mission, and not having enough character even now to concede defeat.

Are these guys talking about plantations? Or religion? Slavery?

Okay, they could be just celebrating the act of rebellion, not the war's final outcome. But, given that this is 142 years after the South's defeat, we southerners need to take abject failure into account.

Most of these flag wavers just look like they enjoy getting in peoples' faces with whatever is most likely to upset others - just like Ted Nugent. It's rebellion for rebellion's sake.

No, not everything that stirs up controversy should go, and we definitely should preserve history. But let's learn from the Civil War, not revere the South's role in it.

Let's put the flag where it belongs - in a history textbook, not in front of the state capitol.

Or how about another secession? Well, if the South tries again, and doesn't get beaten to a pathetic pulp, then we can proudly wave our own flag.

- Josh White is senior from Carrollton majoring in political science