Array flags to honor those who served
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009
By William Saffle
The Confederate battle flag is history and always will be. Keep the Confederate battle flag flying on the Statehouse grounds in Columbia.
I am a retired veteran. It is of great concern to me that there are some people who can take the pride of the flag so lightly. Now the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is pushing for a boycott to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. They say it is considered a symbol of slavery and racism.
The flag is a symbol of truth, honesty, loyalty, bravery and our way of life. The flag does not stand for slavery. Slavery was a terrible thing, but it was in the past.
Maybe we need better leadership in the NAACP. They are trying to make this an issue and problem, where is it not. The Confederate flag has been flying at the Statehouse since 1962, to commemorate the Civil War’s centennial. This is the flag that is seen around the country, and when visitors come to Columbia, everyone loves to see the flag flying beside the monument. This is for the military heroes that fought during the war. No one can change what happened. This is history now, so let it be. So let’s work together. We don’t need hate, we need change. I would like to see the American flag and the state flag installed at the monument beside the Confederate flag. This would make the grounds uniform, for the heroes who served our country with honor. We want to let the governor know where we stand on the issue. We the people. The flag is not going anywhere.
Let’s stand together to keep the flag flying. As a veteran we know what it means to serve our country.
On The Web: www.thesunnews.com/opinion/story/1027733.html
