This controversy is closely related to the call for reparations for slavery. After all, had there been no slavery in America, there MIGHT have been no War Between the States. I say "might" because slavery was NOT the primary cause of the conflict between the North and the South: It had more to do with Northern exploitation and domination of South.
Having said that, had there been no War Between the States, the Stars and Bars would not have achieved the national prominence it has today and the unfair negative connotations which raised THE issue and the subject of this thread.
I wrote this piece on the subject of reparations quite some time ago and draw your attention to the Alex Hailey quote toward the end.
Mr. Hailey was a very perceptive man.
Let me make it clear right up front: I am NOT a racist. I campaigned for and gave money to Alan Keyes. I considered him the most principled, intelligent and articulate man in the race. And if he runs again, I will support him again.
I also consider Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams two of the finest economists and minds extant today. In case you don’t know them, both are black.
But I believe Keyes, Sowell and Williams would oppose calls for reparations.
The modern descendants of slaves brought here in chains in admittedly miserable, soul-gutting conditions who are now calling for reparations need to remember a few things:
They should not only be glad to be in America, they should be glad to be ANYWHERE !
Had that NOT happened, the blood of their ancestors would have run into the earth over there several centuries ago and these modern day would-be "plaintiffs" would not even exist.
And should the great-great-great grandchildren of the approximately 3,000 SLAVE OWNING BLACK plantation owners in this country also be subject to PAYING these reparations?
If so, how do we find THEM?
And the holier-than-thou Northern liberals are strangely silent on recent archeological evidence from NEW YORK CITY clearly tracing the financing of the slave trade to NORTHERN BUSINESSMEN!!
Robert Hitt Neill tells of attending a Tennessee Mountain Writer’s Conference years ago with several other authors. Among them was Alex Hailey, celebrated author of “Roots.” Watching a TV news show, a group of them watched a demonstration in a Southern state against the “Rebel” flag incorporated into that state’s flag. The very next report covered a famine in Africa. Graphic images showed dead bodies, starving children with distended tummies and runny noses and dying people covered with flies, too weak to brush them away.
Mr. Hailey intoned in a low, serious voice, “Every time an American black sees a story like that, they should find a Confederate flag and kiss it.” He then pointed to the TV screen and continued, “Because these would be me and my descendants, except for American slavery. I thank God that my family and I are here instead of there.”
Mr. Hailey was a most perceptive man.
Next problem!