I know this will probably offend some people; some will probably call me a racist, or a bigot, which I am not either of these. I am however a history buff, a veteran and someone who believes that we need to preserve our history, NOT rewrite it. There is a lesson from our history.
I was born in the north, and for the most part raised in the north; I now live in south, NC to be exact. I also lived in the west and the heartland of America, and Texas. Lately there seems to be this big debate about the confederate flag, and this thought that it should not be displayed. “It’s a sign of slavery “. Now it has been a few years, since I took American History, but I do not remember this particular flag being a symbol of slavery. I do however remember it being a symbol of the southern states that were breaking it off from the North, which by that way had slave owners to, to form a new country where slavery was legal. (Let us remember that the civil war was not JUST about slavery). Are we so desperate to keep the issue of slavery alive that now we have to remove ALL remnants and reminders from our history books, and culture? What do we do next, not allow Texas to fly their flag higher than Ole Glory? Do we not teach about the Alamo, do we not teach about the Native Americans being slaughtered? The confederate flag for some is a reminder of where they came from, the south. And for them it is as simple as that. It is not a banner or racism, or  the battle cry of “white power”. Folks, I hate to remind you that the civil war is over, and has been for a long time now, slavery is dead. The confederate states of America are no longer. The confederate flag is no longer the Confederate flag. It is simply a reminder of our past, a past that should not be forgotten, a past that not only my kids, but their grand kids need to learn about, a past that if we are not careful will repeat itself.