UNCOVERING THE MEANING OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG: A SYMBOL OF HATE AND INHUMANITY

CONFEDERATE BANNER WITH 13 STARS FOR THE 13 CONFEDERATE STATES

WHAT DOES

THE CONFEDERATE FLAG

REALLY SIMBOLIZE?

In order to better understand the symbolic meaning of the confederate flag you must first read the Confederate Constitution dated March 11, 1861.  There should be no mistake whatsoever that this document, when published, proclaimed the provocative implementation of a seditious crime against The United States of America pursuing a single-minded objective that would bind the enslavement of black men, women and children for perpetuity.  On April 12, 1861 the confederate army opened fire on Union soldiers at Fort Sumter provoking the Union to react.  This violent act incontrovertibly symbolized the confederate secession from the United States constituting the first and most treasonous act against the nation in its then 85 years history since the declaration of American Independence from Great Britain in 1776.  150 years later this confederate treason remains the most treacherous and violent act ever committed against this country.  It was an act of such gravity that the United States government was literally compelled to fight the confederacy knowing that the confederate movement had been amassing arms for decades in preparation for what it certainly but delusionally visualised as its heroically presaged debacle with tyranny.  I say delusional because the powerful slave-owning men behind the confederate movement were fully aware that since 1776 the egalitarian ideals of the European enlightenment were eroding the divine right of European nobility but in America the equation was far more complex.  It was more than a battle between countrymen, it had become infected by the overlay of racism…

In place of the confederate flag Americans curious about thier history should discover the flags and banners of the black American freedom fighters who fought gallantly in the Civil War to earn their liberation from the institution of slavery.  These flags document some of the most ultimate tests of the human spirit.  Rather than obsess about an obsolete symbol of treachery embodied in the confederate flag we must strive to understand the complete picture of the Civil War which included black and white men who strove for lofty values of humanitarian civil rights together...

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Racism is a profound and pathological sickness in America and those who are infected organize themselves around established symbols of bigotry.  Furthermore, racism knows no particular color, racists are often cultivated through the delusion that they are defending themselves against what they perceive to be racist acts, it is a complex and troubling matrix. 

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The confederate flag is a symbol of racism.  While removing this historic symbol or racism from use in all government facilities will not cure racism it will send a clear message that the government does not condone the use of this symbol.  Authentic confederate flags should curated in museums or private collections behind protective glass as the memorabilia of a wicked and failed attempt to arrest human freedom and civil rights.  They belong with such insidious symbols as the Nazi swastika and other icons of hate. 

The preamble to the confederate constitution reads similarly to the American Constitution of July 4, 1776.  The United States preamble reads as follows:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Compare this to the confederate constitution of March 11, 1861 below:

“We, the people of the Confederate States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a permanent federal government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Confederate States of America.”

The original American Declaration of Independence of 1776 was revised prior and up to July 3, 1776 to exclude language that may have been interpreted by southern colonies and prospective states as being sympathetic to the idea that black peoples and slaves were equal to all men and that slavery was immoral.  This was done to ensure the buy-in of the southern colonies and remained a point of hot debate that reached its boiling point in the mid nineteenth century.  Both preambles invoke divine power to validate the laws encompassed in their scope.  But the confederate constitution goes further clarifying that notwithstanding its lofty opening language referencing the terms justice, tranquility, blessings and liberty as hallmarks of their government the right to own slaves and maintain a subordinate class that would not qualify as, “citizens of the confederate government”, would be defended by the law. 

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The confederate constitution makes reference to slavery twice, first in Article 1, §§ 9 (I), (2) & (4) and secondly in Article 4, § 2 (I), (3). 

Article 1, §§ 9(I), (2) & (4) appear to limit the importation of African Slaves except from the United States which it has just seceded from but by so doing clearly condones the lawful possession of slaves and the institution of human enslavement.  But § (4) boldly proclaims that no law may ever be passed that prohibits the ownership of slavery and we must assume that this was intended to mean for all perpetuity.  The passages are copied verbatim below:

ARTICLE I

§ 9. (I) The importation of negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or Territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbidden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same.


(2) Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of, or Territory not belonging to, this Confederacy.


(4) No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.

The second mention of slavery appears in Article 4, § 2 (I), (3).  This section makes it clear not only that the law supports the ownership of slaves in particular, (as it fails to make any special or exclusive mention of any other common form of chattel), but that it will be the instrument of repatriation of slaves to their owners.  It does not mention whether the law will allow slaves to be freed of service but appears to imply slavery is a perpetual condition from cradle to tomb, read the passage below:

ARTICLE IV

§(3) No slave or other person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the Confederate States, under the laws thereof, escaping or lawfully carried into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such slave belongs,. or to whom such service or labor may be due.

The full text of the confederate constitution is available online at: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_csa.asp 

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Everyone should visit this document to fully understand its implications with respect to slavery and race.  It is quite clear that this document represents a challenge to the growing social climate of the mid nineteenth century which had become more sympathetic to the cause of abolition than human enslavement on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.  In a modern society ruled by the iconic logos of global corporations such as Nike and Coca Cola it is easy to comprehend how powerful a symbol such as the confederate flag can be in the promotion of socially derelict and anachronistic ideals.  The American constitution and its the antithesis embodied in the confederate constitution personify the classic dichotomy between good and evil.  The American flag symbolises the mortal sacrifice of men of conscience for the good of all human beings while the confederate flag has come to symbolise the selfish and primitive culture of institutionalized racism and murder.  As surely as we must continue to heal the sickness of racism in America so must we divest ourselves of its principal icon, the confederate flag.  It must be relegated to its proper place which is a museum exhibit.  It is a mockery of the many men who selflessly died for the freedom of all men. 

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We cannot deprive the subculture of confederate sympathizers from having a romantic reverence for the confederate flag carried by their ancestors but we must be intelligent enough to ensure that this minority sentiment is kept in proper perspective with the rest of the world and that it does not become an instrument of terror and hatred in present times.  A lot has happened since the confederates lost the Civil War in 1865.  One of them is that the confederate flag was retired for all times and the American flag was raised again in those rebellious lands as a hopeful sign of social progress. 

ORIGINAL 11 STAR CONFEDERATE FLAG

CONCLUSION:

We live in a world of symbols that convey clear messages to those who see them.  There are so many positive images for the Civil War, many of which are the relics of black soldiers who fought valiantly for their freedom.  Everyone should be familiar with these hallmarks of human struggle. They are more legitimate elements of Americana to be preserved in the conscience of the people than the flag of traitors.  The visual domain is the most powerful of all because it says instantly what would otherwise require a great deal of verbal or written communication.  When we do the math it is clear that the confederate movement personifies a failed betrayal to the United States of America paid for by thousands of lives.  One has only to read the confederate constitution, a brief document derivative of the U.S. constitution but loaded with specialized language that supports racism and human enslavement.  The confederate flag goes hand in hand with the confederate movement it is its bright star intended for instantaneous human consumption.  Every black man, woman and child understands the perverse hatred and depravity visited upon them behind the confederate flag and it causes a hurtfulness that cannot be quantified.  Because America has moved forward in the past 150 years this obsolete symbol must be removed from all government use.  The confederate flag represents among other things the unlawful secession from the government so it is contradictory for the government to fly the flag of traitors.  Furthermore the flag sends a message of hate and bigotry exacted upon all races, ethnicities and sexes and this must not be condoned by government.  We should all read the confederate constitution in order to understand its malicious intent for there the truth cannot be concealed.  Support the ban of the confederate flag. Vive La Union!

FIN

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