My closing thoughts on the Confederate Flag. I feel that the future of this debate, if there is one, depends highly upon how well we understand history. When I look at history and the intricate relationships that formed the Confederate flag and what it represented at that time, I cannot help but to synthesize a conclusion that symbolism is both a powerful yet potentially dangerous motivator, in this case good or bad, you decide. The simple thought of symbolism and its implications from a bygone era contemporaneous with the emergence of divergence among millions of Americans is as powerful today as it was when slavery began. This is another area where even I have to admit, I did not know the full truth, and slavery came about long before racism. …show more content…
Most notably were the slaves brought to Jamestown by a Dutch ship in 1619. There were 20 Africans, all of whom where indentured servants. By being indentured, they would work for a certain period in exchange for transportation, housing and food. They were also given land after their service and were then considered free Negroes. In comparison to life in the 21st century where one must work, often up till or near death to pay for their home and food, hardly making ends meet, one might think that the rewards of being indentured: housing, food and land was actually a more desirable system. Of course all that gleams is not gold and the downside to this system was the involuntary settlement of Africans from their homeland, often under brutal conditions. From that time, the complexity of the relationship expanded, as well as the practice and need for more slaves as greed grew exponentially due to a cash crop that changed the new world; cotton. Luckily for Southerners their greedy needs were addressed by a war that had its roots planted deep in the slavery of Africans now under the Flag of the
In my paper I will be discussing the Confederate Flag and its controversy in history and in todays views. The Confederate flag has been a negative symbol in American society since the 1800’s. It has been only recently that the Confederate flag has been brought back to life as a contemporary issue. In recent times the flag has been used as a motivation for racial strikes and other rebellious acts bring the issues of the flag and the controversy behind it back to life. The major questions I seek to answer in this essay it why the controversy of the Confederate flag only been brought back up recently and why the confederate flag was created the way it was. And the overall motivation behind its creation. The Confederate flag has only recently been brought back as an issue because of the recent racial attacks and an overall rebellious acts that swear under the confederate flag, back in the early 1860’s the confederate flag was first used to represent the southern states because the south was wanting to secede from the northern states. Because of the major shooting in Charleston controversy behind the confederate flag sparked back up. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon and stopping the sale of the Confederate flag because of its growing symbol of racism. The Confederate flag has shifted from being viewed as the southern states to viewed as a symbol of racism. what does the future hold for the confederate flag and will it become a rare item?
Picture if you were treated differently by a flag that was flown, this can happen in our country at anytime. The confederate flag was flown as a symbol for the southern states in the civil war for keeping their culture which included slavery. The confederate flag should not be flown because it is offensive, symbol of hate, and racist.
Is America more racist now than it was 60 years ago? Of course not, yet America is more polarized than it’s ever been. Even on issues that are mere trifles, Americans cannot seem to agree upon anything. One of these seemingly pointless issues is whether the rectangular Second Confederate Navy Jack and the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia, or as many people call the “confederate flag”, should be banned. It is difficult to discern what exactly set off this movement, the fact of the matter is that the confederate flag has been used for years with no apparent backlash, but has become an issue of controversy. This debate has raised legitimate concern especially in regards to its use amongst federal institutions such as South Carolina flying it over the State House. However, this movement has pushed its way past that into the personal realm. Many have come to the belief that it must be banned on all accounts. Certainly, believing in something enough to fight for it is admirable— something that truly defines what the USA stands for; however, when emotion is used to wrongfully conclude, and in this case, ban a flag without true factual evidence, there becomes a problem. The basis of this argument is that the flag inherently represents racism due to the Southern United States’ history of slavery. This thesis, although noble in motive, neglects the facts of history and logic. The “confederate flag” should not be banned on a personal basis because it would wrongfully and fictitiously
The Confederate flag is justified because people in the south shouldn’t be flying the flag even though it’s their flag they are just making the U.S. look bad when they are flying the American flag and the Confederate flag. The Confederate flag was a symbol of pride for most of the southerners, they thought they could have put their flag on anything they could and they fought for it and wanted to keep their slaves. I think the Confederate flag should have been taken down a long time ago because they shouldn’t have taken this down before we had the United States flag out and put it in front of the White house instead of the Confederate flag flying out there before we had the American flag made.
The issue of whether or not the Confederate statues is in huge debate. Some think that the monuments stand for a lost cause of racism and white pride while others believe the statues should continue to stand for history and reembrace purposes. But should the federal government do anything about the statues?
In a society that contains over 300 million people, it’s challenging to find individuals with the same beliefs at you. By living in the South and living in a predominantly Republican household, many of my beliefs contradict my peers. One of the most recent times in which I’ve challenged a belief was the decision on whether or not the Confederate flag should be flown. The flag itself, represented a time of division, not a time of celebration. It reflects a time in which the South seceded from the Union in the 18th century due to their support of slavery.
Do you think that schools should ban the Confederate Flag in the class rooms? Don’t we have the right to say what we want? Isn’t is a part of our history? Banning the Confederate Flag is absurd. If they are going to ban the Confederate Flag, then they need to ban all flags that are considered offensive.
This controversial issue has come to the forefront recently in the court of public opinion. After talking with many friends, acquaintances, family members, and co-workers, it seems many are ambivalent about this subject. It is surprising that while people think it is racist, they still believe the state should have the right to fly the Confederate flag. Although many were uncertain, there was two strong opinions that categorically oppose one another.
Is the confederate flag a true symbol of “Heritage or Hate”? Recently there has been a big debate over the nation for the flying confederate flag. Many states in America’s south had the confederate flag as a part of their state flag, but this has been changed over the past few months. This confederate flag has been known and flown for many battles over the past century and a half, which was ever since the start of the Civil War in 1861. Some people today see this flag as a symbol of hatred and are willing to get rid of it by taking it down. On the other hand, some people see this flag as a symbol of American history and want to keep this flag flying for heritage. The real question is who is right and why?
A study conducted this year reported that at least 1,503 Confederate symbols can be found in public spaces in the United States. The Confederate symbols include anything from monuments to flags and all the way to schools named after Confederate generals. This means that for years the U.S. has been honoring men for doing bad things like rebelling against the U.S. and fighting to keep slavery. Although taking down Confederate monuments could be equivalent to trying to erase America’s history, leaving them up cause more problems because people believe that the monuments support the idea of white supremacy and encourages people to embrace violence toward other races.
I need help trying to understand this event in Virginia that has been replicated in other cities where citizens have protested the removal of Confederate monuments. I'm not aware of any other country that has monuments that celebrate the loser of a conflict or war and on top of that to celebrate the absolute WORST part of American history. Are there monuments to celebrate Hitler and the Nazi reign in Germany? Are there monuments to celebrate apartheid in South Africa? What reason do Confederate monuments serve when the majority of the atrocities that occurred during that time are either ignored or minimized in the history books?
The battle about what to do with the Confederate monuments is not new. Unless we figure out how to honor infamous events in way that does not glorify them, we as a country will continue the long and complicated debate. There are many perspectives, but the four biggest are to leave them up, take them down, put them in museums, and learn more about them before making a permanent decision. Right now, the United States seems to be taking the side of forming a more educated decision, although some cities, like Charlottesville, have been making the decision of taking them down. The United States is a very undivided nation, which makes it difficult to come up with a solution, especially because it is impossible to make everyone happy.
The confederate flag has always been a symbol that has caused much controversy. It has been called a symbol of pride, also a symbol of hate. Many people wonder why it is still seen in today’s society or why it causes so much tension if it is just a flag to some. The flag has “bisected the country for a long time” (Kozlowska, 2014). It is a definite border between some citizens and a huge social problem. It has caused issues for decades and still carries on racial slurs, white power, and bad morals. Nonetheless the information provided compares both sides of the debate.
Recently, quite a debate has emanated regarding the Confederate Flag. This debate has been taken from a simple ember to an all out wildfire, spreading across America, by events in recent months like the Charleston African-American church shooting and the subsequent removal of the flag from the South Caroline State Capitol. This debate has deep geographic ties from all the way back to the Civil War and what the flag stood for then and what the flag has stood for since. Each side of the debate has determined their position based on their collective memory of the flag. Whereas, one side of the argument sees the flying of the flag as a symbol of racism and hatred, the other sees the flying of the flag as preserving southern heritage with
Racist. History. Respect. Confederate flag. This flag has been yelled at for a long time for being everything negative and more. These reasons ranging from it symbolizing slavery to it being racist towards the people’s eye. Controversy. Arguments. That is all that this flag is about. What about the positive reasons for why this flag is being hung? Why does it have to be negative? For instance, maybe this flag is being hung out of respect. Maybe even fear. Fear of tragic events, happening again.