Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ “Men are not disturbed by things, but by the views which they take of them.” Epictetus
The battle flags and monuments dedicated to the Southern Civil War fallen have become a national conversation. What may be needed, after mourning for the 9 AME Church massacre victims, is a dialogue between individuals who hold distinctly different beliefs and emotional reactions to the symbols, battle flags, and memorials that exist in the Southern States.
Know that many African Americans, who grew up in the South, hold strong beliefs and emotional reactions to the symbols of the old South especially the Confederate battle flags or that iconic sculpture at West Innes and Church Streets in Salisbury . Understand that many folks steeped in Southern heritage and history will have a very different beliefs and emotional reactions to the symbols of the Confederacy.
Honest and open dialogue between persons whose beliefs and emotional reactions clash often brings understanding and may even begin to heal old wounds and divisions.
Do we get rid of the symbols? Or do we change our “interior landscape”?
Results of CNN/ORC Poll on Removing Confederate Battle Flag:
Five Important Facts You Didn’t Know about this Flag:
http://donpettygrove.blogspot.com/2015/06/five-important-facts-you-did-not-know_23.html
