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"A friend of mine who recently visited Virginia said Confederate flags were trending there!"

Yes. They have been for years now. It's a bit of an embarrassment because most of those who fly it are not Virginians, nor even Southern. Though all will claim some distant "great gandpappy who fought at Chicamauga" or some such other, when in fact, their family most likely arrived in America long after the great unpleasantness between the states.

I grew up there, steeped in its history and traditions. Surrounded by a roll call of honor, I resided in such storied places as Manassas and Fredericksburg. Walked their battle fields, and openly wept at places named "The Bloody Angle" "Spotsylvania Courthouse," "The Bloody Lane," and "Marye's Heights." Lived on streets and attended schools named after Beaureguard, Lee, Jackson, Stewart, and Longstreet. Educated by its teachers, all Virginia born and raised. I made the pilgrimages to Jamestown and Williamsburg, and yes, to Lexington as well to place a sugar cube at Traveller's grave, and a lemon at Jackson's.

All this to say I can assure you with absolute confidence, that were he alive today, and from what I know of him from the historical record, Robert E. Lee himself would tell them to furl that banner, and put it away. It has no place in the public square. We fought that war, and lost. Do not dishonor its memory by attaching it to the political forces at play today. We are one and indivisible. Our foe remains the one occupying the White House and speeding the nation to ruin. Our White House. Our nation. One nation. Advance the Colors. Our colors.