Why I bought a “Confederate” flag today.

First I’d say I didn’t  buy a “Confederate Flag” I bought the battle flag of General Robert E. Lee’s Northern Virginia Navy. I bought a 38 inch square flag, not a rectangle. Now that you know what flag I bought let me explain what I was thinking.

• Soldiers fought and died for this flag.
  • I don’t care if you agree with why they were fighting.
  • Has everyone agreed with every fight fought under the Flag of the United States?
    • No, Vietnam, The War in Iraq come to mind.
• I don’t see it as a symbol of racism or hatred, but part of our history.
• I wont be flying the flag, it will most likely take up residence with other flags I’ve collected over the years.
  • Yes, I collect flags, most of them are US flags, but not exclusively.
• I see attempts at banning this flag as a step down the slippery slope towards censorship.
  • We as a nation seem to be afraid to take a stand: i.e. when the movie American Sniper was not shown or nearly not shown on campuses because a few hundred students were offended by it.
  • Freedom of speech is a right. There is no right not to be offended, or guarantee of the intelligence of the speaker.
  • If they can pressure businesses to stop selling this whats next?
    • Will we start banning or burning books that someone finds offensive and drive them off the shelves?
      • My favorite living author Brad Thor has death threats against him for a book he wrote: The Last Patriot.
      • He writes fiction, or as he prefers to call it faction. As he has said (paraphrasing here) His goal is to take the reader on a white knuckle thrill ride, if you learn something along the way that’s even better.
      • Brad Thor is a master at weaving facts and fiction together that you have to use a search engine to dissect where one ends and the other begins. (Yes, I’ve done this with his books.)
      • Should his bestselling books be banned because they offend some people?
      • No!
    • Will people start trying to control what clothing is acceptable? (ISIS???)
      •  Can the elder ladies of the neighborhood get together and have mini skirts pulled off store shelves?
      • I may never wear a mini skirt, but if that’s your style have at it.

So in short I chose to exercise my freedom of speech through expression. I was asked if I wanted an amendment protecting my beloved American flag from being burned.

As much as it pains me to see the flag burned in protest NO! That’s taking away freedom of speech, it takes no courage to stand up for speech you agree with, they true measure of freedom of speech is protecting speech that is NOT popular.

So while the Stars and Bars may never hang on the walls of my home, I’m glad I bought it.

As to whether it should be part of a state flag or be flown over any particular capital or building that’s for the residents of that region to decide. I’m not a legal resident of any of the states in question.