Flying a Flag

To: My friends who aren't American or really don’t understand the American government and some things that I believe set America apart from the rest of the world and also make it the oldest continuous government in the world.

When you weigh in on issues like, say, flying the Confederate Flag, please understand that the US government and laws are not always what you think they should be. (Disclaimer – this post is about a citizen's personally held beliefs, not State or government beliefs. I personally believe that no flag representing a failed rebellion should fly on any government property). Please understand that the First Amendment - 

  

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

–was First for a reason. Even if you believe the Confederate flag (the official or any variations) should NOT be allowed by any American to be flown, put on anything as decoration, etc. let me explain some very simple things to you, and without even going into the actual meaning of the Confederate flag or the fact that the confederate flag has been completely misrepresented by many hate groups.

In the United States of America we have some pretty unique freedoms. Our founding fathers either inadvertently or on purpose, realized you cannot legislate who people are. We can desire a country where everyone just gets along, but you can’t force it. AND if you try forcing it, then you’ll force many things underground where it’s more difficult to keep an eye on things (one of the many arguments for legalizing drugs, but that’s so far off tangent I’ll just leave it there).

We are just as free to love as we are free to hate. Does it make it morally right to hate someone? No, but as long as the hateful person isn't harming others, it’s their prerogative to live a hate filled life. Even hate speech in America is legal as long as it’s not calling out for violence. The audience and other people are free to walk away and not listen to it. As much as I despise the Westboro Baptist Church and everything it stands for, they are free to protest and picket what they chose to, just as other groups are free to “protest the protesting”. It’s as legal to be a KKK member  as it is a LGBT member ( LGBTQ membership, which I’m sure many people in the 50’s and 60’s would have loved to make illegal).

Morally speaking everyone, American or not, has an idea, or a viewpoint on what is right and what is wrong. This is where social construct and free market come in. If someone in charge of a business doesn't agree with, say, the Confederate flag and what they believe it stands for, they have every right to *not* carry that flag. Recently, google, Amazon, Walmart, Sears (among others) have all exercised their legal option to not carry any merchandise with the image of any variation of the Confederate flag. Valley Forge Flag, a prominent US flag manufacturer has even said they will stop making and selling the flag. No legislature has passed to make this happen; the word “ban” being used is, in my opinion, overkill because it’s not the government “banning” anything, it’s the businesses decided not to carry/sell/make a product. This is the general public affecting change. *This* is what make America unique.