OF FLAGS AND FURY

Recently, a tragedy in a Charleston, South Carolina church involving the wanton slaughter of a group of Bible-studying Christians by a cowardly individual who believed himself a kind of revolutionary captured the nation’s attention. The shooter was a young white male, and his victims were African Americans.

Not since Charles Manson has America been treated to such a bizarre scheme to effect a revolution – or resurrect one. 

While some of his concerns may have had some validity, such as the disproportionate violence which has been visited upon white people, how in the world could he imagine that killing a large number of good people would ignite a revolutionary spark? Since the gathering at the church involved unarmed Christians bent on gaining a better understanding of Scripture, how could he suppose that their butchering by a gunman would favorably impress and motivate others who shared to some degree his unhappiness about the “state of the South?” Did such delusional thinking issue from too many encounters with drugs and alcohol? 

The shooter was arrested and will stand trial.

After the lamentations, the members of that church’s congregation forgave the shooter, leaving to God both his judgment and just punishment.

After the lamentations and forgiveness, an anger arose among many African Americans. In seeking an answer to “Why?” many African Americans recalled images of the shooter with some version of the old Confederate flag, and they saw the same flag flying on government property, or as part of a state flag, or included in some way – whether statue, pillar, frieze or other. A connection was drawn. Because African Americans saw the old Confederate flag as the emblem of a system of oppression that victimized black people for hundreds of years, they were inclined to view its influence as predictably evil and anti-African American.

Specifically African American organizations took the lead in demanding that the flag they despised be removed from governmental institutions, property and insignias. After the recent Charleston SC carnage, they were joined by white politicians, prelates, professionals, media personalities and ordinary people in support of the removal of the old Confederate flag from all governmental facilities, forms and figures.

The people involved in this movement spoke of getting rid of “hate” and allowing only positive expressions. “Take the red rag down!” shouted organizers before the South Carolina legislature. The term “red rag” was especially strong in its connotation of something filthy and disgusting. For this reason the marchers immediately compromised the politicians call for “positive” images. Hence, they had to reach to Ronnie Reagan and the Berlin Wall to uplift the gathered as well as the public at large.

At this point wise heads became alerted to the fact that the terrible slaughter might be transformed by ideologues into a political drama meant to set a few clandestine silos for launching new policies later. Opportunists rarely miss opportunities.

For example, the governors of Virginia and Maryland promptly joined the “flag-burning” party. However, if the Confederate flag was to be despised as a “hate” symbol and as “racist,” due to its association with the seceded southern States’ confederacy, which legalized slavery, then why not also attack the U. S. Constitution for America which also legalized slavery? Watch for politicians that front the New World Order crowd to suggest that perhaps it was time to construct a new constitution for America that would better prepare Americans for the problems – and promises – of the coming Century – and beyond. As such people are global government proponents, they would certainly want a new constitution that would more easily allow them to forge a union with the leading states of the globe.