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Reader comment on:
Flag of Dixie Divides GOP Candidates
in response to reader comment: Now Al $harpton is an expert on what Southerners think?

Submitted by Kevin Mulligan, Aug 5, 2007 09:34

I generally agree with Dave Anthony's position that southerners should be permitted to celebrate their heritage without being branded bigots. The Confederate flag is a symbol all Americans should be proud of, however, it has been misued by segrationists, Klansmen and other bigot groups. I brought my young sons to a Klan rally 25 years ago (as protestors, not supporters) and the hooded cowards spewed their hate from a podium bedecked with the Confederate battle flag. Robert E. Lee would abhor these distortions of the flag's proud history. Al Sharpton is clueless as to the flag's true representation.

I disagree that the slavery issue had nothing to do with the causes of the War Between the States. In a December 1860 letter to a North Carolina congressman, Abraham Lincoln summarized the dispute. "You think that slavery is right and ought to be extended; we feel that it is wrong and should be restricted. For this, neither has just occasion to be angry with the other."

Lincoln and most moderate northerners hoped to restrict slavery from expanding to the new territories but keep the union intact. But extremists from both sides continued to fan the flames until the eruption at Fort Sumter. Slavery was one of a host of issues which divided the two regions.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.

Other reader comments on this article

Comment By Date

Those who are so ignorant of history that they oppose the Confederacy are nothing new, and it is no surprise... [MORE]

Gifford Roberts

Apr 20, 2007 06:07

Why is this even an issue in the presidential campaigns? The states choose their own flags -- the US president... [MORE]

Larry Fafarman

Apr 13, 2007 00:17

As a native Southerner with ancestors who served in the Confederate Army during the War Between The States, I believe... [MORE]

D. A. Anthony

Apr 12, 2007 20:12

I generally agree with Dave Anthony's position that southerners should be permitted to celebrate their heritage without being branded bigots....

Kevin Mulligan

Aug 5, 2007 09:34

Kevin, I appreciate your thoughts regarding my post to the New York Sun, but I must inquire about your comment... [MORE]

D. A. Anthony

Aug 6, 2007 13:22

Would former Mayor Giuliani support placing the Confederate flag above "Grand Army Plaza" in Brooklyn or whould he find supporting... [MORE]

LGulotta

Apr 12, 2007 14:13

Supporting the flying of the Confederate flag does have serious implications indeed. It means you (1) want this country to... [MORE]

AJ

Apr 22, 2007 14:56

We have a former recruiter for the KKK in the United States Senate. His name is Robert Byrd, he is... [MORE]

Donald Iarussi MFA

Apr 12, 2007 13:11

I enjoyed reading this exchange and believe Mr. Anthony makes several valid points with which I concur. For many Americans... [MORE]

Jack Wyman

Aug 6, 2007 11:51

Mr. Wyman, I found your comments on my post in the New York Sun interesting, but I would appreciate if... [MORE]

D. A. Anthony

Aug 8, 2007 13:51

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