Confederate flag a symbol of lost personal freedoms
Friday, Sept. 15, 2006
Letter to the Editor
Let me start off by saying that I am in no way supporting the segregation of Survivor: Cook Islands.
Personally, I think that show is way past its prime, but I cannot help but write in about a recent review of the show in this week’s Venues.
Whenever one thinks about racial issues, the Confederate flag always comes to mind. As a former Civil War re-enactor with the 9th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and Civil War enthusiast, I find time and time again that people do not understand the issues surrounding that flag. It is in no way a correct representation of the Confederacy, it is merely a battle flag which the troops carried into such great conflicts as Antietam, Bull Run, Vicksburg and local Gettysburg.
This flag in no way represents slavery. It represents the 258,000 Southern soldiers who gave their lives to preserve their personal freedoms, whether that freedom seems wrong today or not.
Yes, an issue was slavery, but it was so much more than that. I suggest a read of Apostles of Disunion by Charles Dew before one can accurately say what all of the major causes of the Civil War are, slavery included.
Let us not hate a flag that was, at the time, not a major representation of the Confederacy and before we speak our minds on a subject such as this, take even two hours out of your day to read the history, politics and lifestyles of the early 1860s.
Then, and only then, will you have an accurate portrayal of what was going on and will you have the right to speak your mind. Education is the key behind any argument.
Cory St. Esprit
sophomore – agricultural and extension education
On The Web: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/09/09-15-06tdc/09-15-06dops-letter-03.asp
