“I can answer for myself. And I already did. I guess I can do it again. I’m not offended by the American flag. Or the confederate flag either for that matter.”
Soooooo, you were just idly wondering what FReepers thought? It was an already resolved issue for you, but you wanted feedback...to what purpose?
The South was getting hosed by the North, economically. The expansion of slavery was an inevitable outcome of the economic pressures put on the Southern farmers. In a sense, the North's greed and desire for cheap raw goods made the need for slavery inevitable.
This situation led to the North (which controlled the Federal government) imposing their moral standard on the South while simultaneously economically requiring the South to perpetuate the same evil institution.
If we are not careful, Conservatives of today could find themselves in a similar position. We can cry that we have a constitutional right to bear arms (the high idea) but the left could force us into a position of using them against agents of the government, whereupon we become evil incarnate.