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Let's begin by saying that we know of no restriction on the use of the Confederate Battle Flag by groups such as the KKK, militia, or almost all of the various hate groups. Although we don't like it, we guess, given our Constitution, that nothing can be done about it. If burning the U.S. Flag is "freedom of speech" then carrying the Battle Flag is also. We'll not go into a discussion on the merits or lack thereof of any of the groups using the Battle Flag (other than indirectly). Who they are and what they are, is self-evident from their statements and actions. All we will say is that they have demeaned a flag under which tens of thousands of young men fought and died. Too often this is over looked by the haters of hate groups. No one stops long enough to realize that what the Battle Flag represents---the courage, endurance, sacrifice, and glory---was frozen for all time, when the Civil War ended. Except for those who use the Battle Flag to honor the Confederate soldiers and their cause, no one else using the flag for a specific cause, can transfer one iota of the character, prestige, and glory for which the flag stands, to themselves or their cause. And that is, of course, what they are trying to do. Those who display the Battle Flag in a racist parade, or use the flag associated with some "new" cause, are trying to tell the world that their purpose or cause is at the same level of honor as the Confederate struggle. It will always be an erroneous belief. It has worked the other way. It is largely overlooked by these groups, that the Confederate soldier was fighting for his family and his home against the Northern invaders. The South was not trying to overthrow the U.S. Government, it was trying to leave it. And men died carrying the Battle Flag and protecting it. We are confident that few of the men who fought under that banner would support those groups using it today. But now, hate groups have, by their association with it, brought the Battle Flag into disrepute in current circles. It is used by the left-wing media to indicate a radical, a "crazy", in movies and on T.V. And even if the Devil himself---and I'm not sure he hasn't--- associates with the Battle Flag, it makes it no less than that which it was in the 1860's; the Flag of a proud army, people, and nation. The real Battle Flag is still around today. You can see the real flag associated with the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy. You can see it carried by re-enactors on the sacred battlefields. And you can see it in the museums throughout the country. What those other groups carry is an ersatz copy of the flag. It is not, and can never be, the real thing. So protest the display of the ersatz flag. Protest when the ersatz flag is unfurled by those who do not intend to honor the Battle Flag's original use. Protest against those who use it to further racism, segregation, and/or separatism. But please do not target those who would use the flag to honor its history and their heritage. Content Team *We acknowledge that the flag referred to on this page was not an official Confederate battle flag and was never sanctioned by the Confederate Government. We are told it closely resembles the "Naval Jack" flag. However, informal or not, Southern soldiers fought and died to protect it, and in doing so, made it as legitimate as any flag in that war.
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