by Irene Daniel
This week we have seen the Confederate flag, a symbol of "southern pride" come down in South Carolina. This is significant because not only did South Carolina birth the treasonous rebellion of the 1860s, it was also the most reticent to join the rebellion of the colonists against England in 1776. They don't like to give up things down there. Since South Carolina took this action, several other southern states have also taken action to ensure that their state governments no longer impose this symbol upon its citizens, a large number of whom are black.
This is a pretty big deal. The fact that this anti-confederacy fever seems to be gaining steam every day is simply astonishing. The arguments used in its condemnation are not new. So, what changed? Black people have been murdered for being black for centuries now. They've been murdered by guns. They've been murdered in churches. They have been blamed for a great many things for a very long time. Why now, after the deaths of nine people in a Charleston church, is the message finally being heard and heeded? And with such rapidity?
I don't know why these latest deaths somehow became a tipping point. What is it about this incident at this time in Charleston that shattered the myth of confederate valor in the "war of northern aggression"? Why now, does a son of the south rise up to speak on the floor of the South Carolina State Senate and declare that flying that flag in the face of those who have been oppressed by its flag-wavers for centuries is just plain wrong?
I'm speaking, of course, of State Senator Paul Thurmond, none other than the son of that great American segregationist, Strom Thurmond. This Senator Thurmond, however, not only said that the flag must go, but did so with a resounding rebuke of the past. This man is a profile in courage, and a true patriot. For a true American Patriot understands that freedom isn't free and that it means nothing if not accessible to every American.
Moreover, our American liberties have been thought through, written about, fought over and changed throughout our history. I recently posted a piece about gracefully surrendering the things of youth, such as our nation has always done. We have come a long way since the days when only white men who owned property could vote. All along the way, we had to surrender long-held biases and exclusivity in order to expand the franchise, marching toward that "more perfect union." We have had to collectively give up the biases and blindness that make it impossible to be true to our creed of "liberty and justice for all." This is what makes America great!
As we move deeper into the 21st century, I have wondered where we are headed; as a nation and as a human race. For a while there, I thought we might be headed for another Dark Age; reverting to something of a feudal system and an over-policed world. And of course, senseless and constant war would be suffered and celebrated with armies and flags around the globe. Self-governance would be a thing of the past, for people would be coerced into surrendering this precious right in order to protect themselves from somebody else's god; over which of course, all these wars would be waged.
However, with this news of this major evolution of the American south, as well as other telling signs, we may be able to avoid all that darkness. Perhaps we are waking up a bit. The largest growing voter-eligible demographics in the USA are millenialls, Latinos and women. These demographics trend toward more progressive views, and yet retain plenty of conservative skepticism about making things work. Maybe we are ushering in a time of great collaboration, instead of great polarization. Now that's a revolution I'll sign up for any day.
Perhaps we are able to evolve and grow into Abe's "more perfect union" after all.
Copyright 2015, Irene Daniel, all rights reserved.
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