“I see the Confederate flag as the symbol of men who, as Lincoln put it, wrung their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces...”
That viewpoint is his problem since he is not a Southerner. The Confederate flag has never symbolized slavery to any Southerner; it symbolizes a people, and a people who fought, not for slavery, but an invading army. Real men in this country use to fight invaders because of love of country, their people, other lofty motives. Now, only base motives are assigned to those instincts, such as racism. Currently, I am supposed to revere May 5, rather than something that symbolizes part of my heritage.
In the War of Northern Aggression!
Largely over the acquisition of the wealth to be found out here in the western states.
I recently grabbed as many confederate flags as I could when visiting southern battlefields last year. I sent many to friends in England who have a romance with the south. I wanted to preserve the flag before it got banned!