Posted on 06/10/2002 5:38:06 AM PDT by TexConfederate1861
Only in America can a coalition of minorities coalesce to abolish the history of the majority. Although history is rife with majorities imposing their will over minorities, there are few cases where the minority can control the majority. One of these cases afflicts citizens of the Southeast, and it concerns the Confederate battle flag.
On one side are the NAACP and the ACLU, whose battle cry is that the flag represents slavery and white oppression and enflames the social struggle of African Americans.
On the other side is a majority of Southern whites whose ancestors fought against the Northern armies in the U.S. Civil War. They've defined their heritage with that flag ever since.
The NAACP and the ACLU have strong influence on the policies of the federal government, but, unfortunately, the state governments in the South are technically still fighting battles many thought were resolved in 1865. But, unlike the Civil War where guns decided debates, today's weapons are the public support each side can muster.
Philosopher Rene Descartes taught us that opinions exist because we see, touch, hear, taste and smell the things around us, but this doesn't mean they're necessarily true. The flag in question is widely considered the flag of the Confederacy. In truth, that popular insignia, known as the Naval Jack, is actually one of 200 battle flags used by Confederate army regiments during the Civil War. The actual flag for the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars, is only well known among historians.
Famed racial justice advocate and self-proclaimed reverend Jesse Jackson has often stated that the Naval Jack is the pure embodiment of white pride and the South's nurturing of the unethical slave practice. Advocates for the flag's removal from public places say the flag is morally unjust.
The flag was used in the South, and, yes, the South had slavery as an institution, but that doesn't mean the flag supports slavery. And this is what the NAACP and ACLU refuse to acknowledge. Jackson, as well as his counterpart Al Sharpton, have made it their crusade to seek the permanent removal of the Naval Jack from all government buildings and monuments, even those built to honor the men who died fighting for the South. It is this simple fact that has the former Confederate states in an uproar. These men put on a face of decency and proclaim they want to improve our lives, but their rewriting of history shows contempt for their own heritage as well as that of the majority.
Ironically, if the states know their heritage is threatened, while the protesters know the flag is one of the many things that still promotes racial injustice, then who's to say which side is right or wrong? The controversy might be resolved if protesters understand the flag is nothing more than a piece of colored cloth made so one regiment could identify itself in the chaos of battle and in the pride of parades. It is not the epithet of slavery. Focus on the flag keeps protesters from addressing the real issues plaguing blacks in America, such as teen mothers, single-parent families, drugs, crime and education.
With power comes great responsibility. Is it responsible to use vast political and social power to boycott tourism and blackmail governments in Southern states to remove the flag?
During the Civil War, an estimated 65,000 African Americans fought in the Confederate army. The general of the Confederate army, Robert E. Lee, was actually against slavery, while the commander of the Northern armies, Ulysses S. Grant, owned slaves. Of course, these facts are omitted from NAACP propaganda.
The NAACP and ACLU are civil rights organizations. But can't they be civil in their pursuit of civil rights? Ironically, should these clubs succeed in their efforts, their success will eliminate the very reason for their existence.
Both sides are looking for two things, sympathy and support. Every cause needs an enemy to succeed, gain membership and solicit adequate funding, but in this case the organizations' real enemies are themselves. These organizations claim their interpretation of history is the only accurate one. They attempt to champion minority history. The real victim is legitimate history.
Teen View columnist Austin Jameson is a 2002 graduate of High Point Central High School. He can be contacted at Blue_Dog_Anchorite@hotmail.com
©High Point Enterprise 2002
And that's the way the NAACP wants to keep it. If these problems are solved, then the NAACP will be out of a job.
In other words, they fought as slaves. And only towards the end of the war when the South was desperate for soldiers of any kinds.
Kind of puts a different spin on things, doesn't it?
And why are we supposed to fly a flag that is the symbol of treasonous rebellion against the U.S. and it's Constitution, in order to celebrate it?
The vast majority of these mothers are teenagers, not in their late 20's with an established career and strong financial base. These mothers are doomed to a life of poverty and will remain uneducated and ill prepared for life and motherhood. Their children will face the same circumstances.
This problem can not be fixed over night. It is too late for the current teen mothers. Most of their children as well probably. If the current generation of these children (10 and under) are taught and educated about the problems with teen motherhood and are able to avoid the situation the problem can be corrected with the next generation. If not, it will continue to be a problem for another 30+ years.
In fact, since a rebel "division" contained about 8,000 soldiers, what you're saying is there were about EIGHT DIVISIONS of black soldiers fighting on the side of the rebellion. That's just BULLSH*T!!!
More revisionist history from those completely, utterly devoid-of-any-contact-with-reality "neo-Confederates."
And the Constitution, nor the states agreements for joining the Union, prevented, nor prohibited secession. Infact, several of the states, Texas for example, reserved the right to Seceed in their joining the Union.
That is inarguably true. But please remember that "other ethnic groups" are doing their best to get up to speed with out-of-wedlock births.
Yesterday in our church's "stake conference" (a stake consists of from 8 to 12 "wards" or congregations), our Stake President announced that during the past year we had had SEVEN out-of-wedlock births, and that all of the young women involved wanted (at least initially) to keep their babies, in accordance with the latest trend.
"The Swastika was used by the Nazis, and yes, the Nazis practiced genocide against the Jews, but that doesn't mean the Swastika supports Jewish genocide."
And why are we supposed to fly a flag that is the symbol of treasonous rebellion against the U.S. and it's Constitution, in order to celebrate it?
"He is a poor patriot whose patriotism does not enable him to understand how all men everywhere feel about their altars and their hearthstones, their flags and their fatherland."
Harry Emerson Fosdick
Black Confederates Fact Page
by Scott K. Williams
Black Confederates Why haven’t we heard more about them? National Park Service historian, Ed Bearrs, stated, “I don’t want to call it a conspiracy to ignore the role of Blacks both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, but it was definitely a tendency that began around 1910” Historian, Erwin L. Jordan, Jr., calls it a “cover-up” which started back in 1865. He writes, “During my research, I came across instances where Black men stated they were soldiers, but you can plainly see where ‘soldier’ is crossed out and ‘body servant’ inserted, or ‘teamster’ on pension applications.” Another black historian, Roland Young, says he is not surprised that blacks fought. He explains that “…some, if not most, Black southerners would support their country” and that by doing so they were “demonstrating it’s possible to hate the system of slavery and love one’s country.” This is the very same reaction that most African Americans showed during the American Revolution, where they fought for the colonies, even though the British offered them freedom if they fought for them.
It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, “saw the elephant” also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war. But in the ranks it was a different story. Many Confederate officers did not obey the mandates of politicians, they frequently enlisted blacks with the simple criteria, “Will you fight?” Historian Ervin Jordan, explains that “biracial units” were frequently organized “by local Confederate and State militia Commanders in response to immediate threats in the form of Union raids…”. Dr. Leonard Haynes, a African-American professor at Southern University, stated, “When you eliminate the black Confederate soldier, you’ve eliminated the history of the South.”
No one took anyone's "rights" away. There was an election. The slaveholders peed in their own pool by not uniting behind Douglas. The "Black Republican" (so styled by the slaveholders) won, and THAT was what set in motion the secession.
Go and read the secession documents, the declarations, the proceedings of the secession conventions. They simply rail against Abe Lincoln, "Black Republicans", and the audacity of those who sought to take their property away from them.
It was an evil, despicable enterprise and I have just written Jim Robinson asking that all who come onto FR and talk nothing but hatred and treason against the United States be banned.
I'm sick of these threads. They disappeared for a few months after 9-11, because you people KNOW what you are, and that you hate the United States. But now, just like your OTHER Democrat buddies, you're back slamming this wonderful nation.
I justly hope that we can put an end to this. I'm tired of it.
Solution: Ignore them, much as I (usually) ignore you.
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