The War is Over

A Confederate flag is on display near where I live. These flags are sprinkled around the state like confetti from a party with too few guests. I have this to say.

I served in the U.S. Army and protected the right to free speech. Flyers of these flags can go on. I protected their right to do so. That doesn’t protect them from criticism.

I understand fascination with the Civil War. My great, great grandfather served in the Confederate Army. The Confederate flag was part of my family history. As a child, I bought one and hung it in my bedroom.

The Civil War was fought over property rights: the right to enslave human beings as chattel. Catholic nuns taught us about Robert E. Lee in grade school. They said what a great military tactician he was. They omitted the fact he enslaved human beings: he owned them, rented them out, and inherited them as property on his plantations. I set their lesson about Lee aside, and took down my flag.

Nuns also taught 1 Corinthians 13:11, which is:

When I was a child, I spake as a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Confederate flag flyers should become adults, revere Iowans who fought for the Union in the Civil War, and join the rest of humanity, including the descendants of slaves. The war is over, take down the flag.

~ Published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette on Nov. 28, 2024.