Wednesday, February 12, 2003

In a recent, overlong letter to The Citizen concerning the state flag, the learned Mark D. Linville explains the history of the symbol now known as the swastika so that we who haven't spent as many years as he in the halls of academe (he is a college professor) will understand how the swastika and the Confederate battle flag have been similarly defiled and, thereby, gained a new meaning to himself and others.

Oddly, this was followed by several paragraphs which would make a good case in favor of the battle flag, such as, "It represents the noble and principled Robert E. Lee and his heroic soldiers who served under him against overwhelming odds ... 90 percent of such men were not slaveholders, and should not be thought of as fending slavery ... they were defending their way of life from what they perceived to be an oppressive federal government that threatened the liberties guaranteed them by the Constitution ...."

Too bad Dr. Linville does not choose to explain to his fellow enemies of the flag that those are some of the main reasons the flag is honored by the majority of Southerners and that the much smaller minority of haters cannot, in fairness, demand that it and all other Confederate symbols be relegated to oblivion as an appeasement.

His entire argument can and has been persuasively rebutted in the past. It can get tiresome. I do agree with his observation that, "either our flags are statements of who we are and intend to be or they might as well be sewn into laundry bags."

So, bring on the referendum and let the people of Georgia say who we are. Those who cannot bear to live under the chosen flag are free to leave. Isn't freedom wonderful?

Glen Allen

Peachtree City