By Liaf
This is a risky message. As with many debates, issues and hurt feelings that fly around in our divided country, this becomes one of the so many so-called "race" issues. And I perceive there is nothing I can say, or indeed anyone else for that matter that will not be misconstrued by someone as a form of racist remark. We've become a nation afraid to say anything while at the same time other nations laugh at and scorn our so-called belief in "free speech". If you have noticed as I have, there is plenty of "free speech" in other nations--- that is if you side with the governing power. Dissenters would be shot on site. Supposedly, we have true freedom of speech. It's just that we are afraid to use it--- otherwise we'd be "shot in court". Folks. Hear me out. Speech that is not offensive does not need protecting. Nobody makes rules against having something nice to say, do they? That's only Basic Logic 101. Of course you will always have the character that asks, "Well then that means I can yell 'FIRE' in a crowded theater?" I'd say, "yes" to that. But then I also have the freedom of speech to say, "Shut up! I'm trying to watch the movie!" (And if we keep yelling at each other, the theater owner has the right to throw us both out). So if we have this freedom, but we are afraid to use it because of repercussions, then we are no better off than the nations who allow you to say anything you want, as long as the government allows it or else you'll be shot.
Before I start about the Confederate Flag, let me say something about what we teach here. Spiritually obtuse individuals would make this "lost tribes" stuff into a form of racial bigotry and hatred because some groups that participate in such hateful practices believe similarly to what we do about the lost tribes. (So we must ALL be lumped into one box). To be honest with you, when I first heard the teaching about the lost tribes of Israel, the thought never entered my mind (about race). I just wanted to know where the lost tribes ended up. For that matter, does that make the Jewish population bigoted and racist because they are referred to as "God's People"? I find that an interesting paradox. You see, if I say the Anglo-Saxons are part of the lost tribes, that rings a sour note with some. "How dare you make these people more superior than others. Those awful Colonialists!" Yet, because the Jewish people have experienced some of the oppression that the oppressed felt they had, then there is no problem being called "God's people". It has nothing to do with one group being better than the other. It has everything to do with God's calling. And when God calls somebody, they'd better get their arse moving (with the responsibility attached) or else get the hand of God on them!
In simple language, the Confederate Flag understandably raised a lot of remembrance of a negative past. Therefore, in this so-called enlightened day, we should not hold onto any symbolic form or racism and bigotry whatsoever. So the logic goes. Hold on a minute! With every negative past, there is a positive past and positive outcome. We are a great nation with opportunities for everybody. Let the people remember the positive of their national heritage. What totally amazes me is that if any ethnic or racial culture within this country wants to remember their heritage, nobody else has any right to impede them (whether it be in the form of a festival, celebration, holiday or whatever). I say, rightly so! Everyone should be able to, and that goes for the Confederate Flag, also! You see, to allow certain ones the right to express their heritage and not others (even if it seems offensive) rings the same sour note as a regime like the one we threw out in Iraq (the ones with the freedom of speech siding with Sadam while shooting the others). In this terrible time in this country, I am trying my darnedest to keep us spiritually educated, informed and unified. Why throw a monkey wrench in the already unstable times we live in? The Confederate Flag has been around loooong before the protestors were born, and it never reached out and bit anybody. It did not prevent our nation from becoming great, and it represents a very real national heritage to some people. Why discriminate against them? If they are bigoted and hateful, avoid them. If they cause trouble to anyone, there are laws to side with the victim. Therefore, let's work together to address the real issues and let's not look to some flag and drum up new ones. Besides, to make all this stir only draws more attention. I'm warning everyone out there. If I hear too much more about the Confederate Flag, I'll go out and buy one--- not to spite the people protesting it, but out of pity for a national heritage that is getting beat up for no good reason (and if many would have kept quiet about this flag, I would not have taken much notice). And if that flag represents a racist past, pray tell, if we go back to any heritage, can we truthfully say any heritage had a perfectly clean past? For those who would say that the Confederacy was evil, what about their past? You mean there were no wars, no oppression, no crime of any kind in their past? Don't be hypocritical. Yet, these same folks still want to remember their heritage as if it was perfect--- that's still OK in their eyes.
Now the State of Georgia is under extreme pressure to remove any Confederate stuff on their flag "or face a boycott". The legal measure was approved, marginally, out of fear that their tourism would be severely hurt. First of all, I thought we were a government "for the people by the people". This brings on an "us and them" mentality. I addressed some constitutional issues in past messages only because some of those in the government want to adopt this same philosophy (us and them, those peon people). NO! That's why we have the constitution. And the people ought not to think this way about folks who work in the government either. Oh if this were only a perfect world and this nation would be run the way the constitution addressed it. However, call all this what you will. We still depend on each other whether we like it or not. Go ahead and boycott the State. I hope it falls. Then the rest of the United States will start to fall. And guess what? The people who started this will realize they just cut off their noses to spite their faces. And when everything falls, who will be feeling it the most? The little guy like me, of course. (And probably many of the protestors are in the same classification). Meanwhile, some "protestees" are in a higher position of power and wealth. And as many of the fat-@$$ CEOs who are crying bankruptcy while giving themselves great pay increases, these same people will exploit the rest as things begin to falter while laughing their way to the bank. When all of this happens, where did this get anybody (except to benefit a select few)?
One final note here, notice I did not feel the need to display a Confederate Flag on this message. I have no axe to grind. I DO respect a national heritage with its negatives and all because that's what the freedom in this nation stands for. Anybody who denies that is abysmally ignorant of the American Spirit and all that we stand for. I have a better challenge. Instead of trying to remove a symbol that is perceived as racist, why not work to replace the perception of it to something positive that this nation stands for? That would be the true spirit of forgiveness that Jesus had (to forgive one's past sins while letting them continue onward). If some folks can do that, I will definitely stand up, salute them and take notice.