History, Hatred and Hope (or, A Confederate Flag, a Judge and a Rainbow Walk Into a Bar...)

It has been a busy time for SCOTUS (the Supreme Court of the United States). In the space of mere days they have made safe the Affordable Care Act in yet another blow to those who swore the whole idea of health care for most (if not quite all) was a poor man's pipe dream.

I find it incredible that, after finally putting in place some form of healthcare in this country, opposing politicians want to dismantle and destroy opportunities for uninsured Americans to actually have access to healthcare. Is the Affordable Care Act perfect? Of course not. But rather than trying to improve on something that is at least a foundation, politicians (the GOP) took their case to SCOTUS (again) in another attempt to dismantle what has been put in place. Now, I consider myself lucky in that for the past 15 years I have worked in a job that has great health benefits, so I have not (yet) had to avail myself of what the ACA provides. But I also believe that we are in this together. So if my premiums increase a smidge (which they have done anyway, every couple of years) and that increase allows a family to now receive health benefits, then I say Huzzah! And this is the part of the show that rankles me most. The people most against the ACA already have insurance (sometimes federally) or they have the means to get insurance on their own. These are the same people who say the poor have "done it to themselves" either by being lazy or not getting an education (umm, what??). These people claim that they have pulled themselves up by the boot straps without ANY assistance (no government oil tax incentives, no farming subsidies, no government steel contracts, no inheritances???). I won't dwell on this much longer, but the bottom line is that sometimes people need a hand up and if we aren't able to see, understand, accept, and help them, then our so-called American values have stumbled, and divided we shall fall.

Sadly, there was another event in our country also garnering attention. Last week a lone gunman opened fire in the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. The gunman, a self-identified white supremacist, killed nine people before temporarily escaping. Since his capture, photos have surfaced of the gunman (who I refuse to name and help place in history) displaying the battle flag of Robert E. Lee's northern Virginia army unit, the flag typically considered to be "The Confederate Flag." What is interesting to me is that this event has reinvigorated the call to remove the flag from in front of the State House of South Carolina (as well as other States' official locations). Large retailers are also refusing to sell anything with the image of the flag upon it, and in one, seemingly over-reactive move, TV Land has also stopped showing reruns of the 1970s era show, The Dukes of Hazard.

If you have read my posts before, you know I am about to ramble on...

First...sigh...the battle flag. I could go into detailed history here but let's keep it simple: 1. It was never adopted as THE Confederate flag. Rather, it was one of many vying for the position of the official flag of the Confederacy. 2. It really didn't even gain any prominent attention until after the Civil War when it was displayed by some southern veterans. OK, I get it, it's the later 1860s, you're pissed because you lost the war and your supposed "culture" (which relied on a now broken economy whose foundation was literally slave labor) was, in your view, stolen. So you raise your army unit's flag as a statement of pride and some in your face "the war will never end" bravado. Whatever, moving on. 3. The resurgence of and increased popularity of this particular flag was coincidentally (riiight) parallel to the southern states' desperate, demented, and dangerous attempts at preventing desegregation,

One of the first officially recognized flags of
the Confederacy, the "stars and Bars"

being flown in front of State buildings. Here is where the iconography of the flag shifted from a relatively harmless historical artifact to something that gained a life of its own. While the flag was defended as a symbol of southern history and pride, now within that narrative we find divisiveness, violence, and hate. 4.The Civil War, by the way, WAS about slavery, despite what revisionist historians want to tout. You can color it in states rights (the states right to keep slaves) and the idea that northerners wanted to change southerners "culture" (see above), but the facts remain that seven states had already seceded from the Union before Lincoln took office and in each of their declarations they specifically state slavery (or the possibility that it would be abolished) as impetus for leaving the Union.

So, defending and flying the flag in an official state capacity can only be offensive, or at least inappropriate if looking at it from a critical, and even historical eye. It can only be a good thing that the southern states are finally, FINALLY, moving to remove the flag from their State building displays.

Now, riled up by media wolves and instigators brandishing the First Amendment like a Howitzer, firebrands all over the country have suddenly adopted the flag as a symbol of government meddling. A large demographic (but certainly not the only one) rallying to the "cause" of the flag is young men (white of course). And this position isn't new. All my life I have seen young men with the flag slapped on the back of their vehicles (I know saying trucks would be stereotyping, but you know I am thinking it). When I was young I just figured these guys were idiots who didn't know better. They had bought into the "rebel" mystique and adopted it as their own. The same seems to be true now only there is no excuse, in my mind. If you are displaying this symbol, it is likely not because your great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. And if you are displaying it in some misplaced gesture of "freedom" or response to what you view is an oppressive government, you are just plain wrong. There are other ways to show your displeasure with the government. Now, here is where the First Amendment kicks in. You can fly whatever flag you want on private property. That is your right. Just know that most people will think you are an asshole. But that is ok too, because it is also your right to be an asshole on private property (and on non-network television, apparently). So, do a rebel yell and fly the flag. Most of us will just write you off and get on with our day.

Finally, a good thing (thank you Martha Stewart), no, a GREAT thing. In the past couple of weeks SCOTUS also confirmed what most of us (those who read my blog at least) knew in our hearts; that love is love and whether you are gay or straight, you should be allowed to reap the recognition and rights associated with matrimony. It was a blow to the haters and a boon to social progression.

This has been a emotional issue for years. Until this latest decision, only 36 states had legalized same-sex marriage. Secular and religious leaders of all makes and models chose sides and vehemently defended their positions. Interestingly, and perhaps because this is an election year, there have been instances of officials actually suggesting to their minions that they ignore the ruling and refuse to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. True, most of what I am seeing of this sort of behavior has been belting out of...wait for it...Texas. You know, the State that vociferously accused the Federal Government, and specifically the POTUS (the President of the United States), of planning an armed takeover that would implement martial law across the state. When that (shockingly) failed to materialize and the extreme weather hit them like a sledge hammer (weather that is surely not affected by the climate change that TX politicians, among others, say doesn't exist), they asked the Feds for emergency aid. So the fact that Texas politicians are urging some poor, underpaid county clerks to ignore what is now federal law, shouldn't surprise me.

Make no mistake, this is a war, one in which people have died, and this week has been about the PR battle. My Facebook feed is a prime example. For a couple of days most of my friends (and 26 million others) changed their profile photo with an app that "rainbowized" the picture in a show of support of the decision and those it affects. Those of us who did it are considered allies by some (posers by others-you can't please everyone). Even the lexicon feels militaristic. My Evangelical friends have either remained obviously quiet, or posted pointed quotes of scripture, or have posted articles that purport to demonstrate "facts" about how the federal recognition of same-sex marriage will destroy the foundation of marriage (my divorced and single friends have lots to say on that issue), bring about the fall of democratic America (isn't democracy how we got here in the first place?), open the door to terrorist organizations like the Islamic State (which is a religious zealot organization, btw) and bring on the end of days. Pop culture "icons" like Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson, reproduction professionals and molester protectors, the Duggars, and old, can't even spell relevant anymore, Pat Robertson, have promised us that dogs and cats will lay together, banks will fail, NASCAR will fall, and women will demand equal pay...in short, humanity is doomed because of same-sex marriage.

Interestingly, the same was said about breaking with Britain, abolishing slavery, granting women (and African and Native Americans) the vote, desegregation, and interracial marriage... Which finally brings me to my point (thanks for hanging in there with me): people keep saying that all these things are not in the Constitution and so were not part of the Founding Fathers' plan. THAT IS TRUE. What was part of their plan was to create a society that would grow and flourish in justice for ALL. Mores change and people and their societies evolve (if not, they are doomed) and so must our laws evolve to meet these changing needs and progression of thought. The Founding Fathers left future generations with much to do in the ongoing social growth of the United States. I believe that they expected what they put down on parchment to be laws of justice, a compass for our values, but not a rigid wall that could never be improved upon.The bottom line for me is that if we don't look at these foundation documents (and frankly, that means scripture if you are of a religious nature) as dynamic, living bases for how our society grows and hopefully prospers, we will stagnate and rot (and get stinky) where we stand.