PRO/CON VIEW: Should Texas allow specialty license plates featuring the Confederate flag?
By Enterprise editorial staff
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
OUR VIEW: Nix the flag
If Texans want to put Confederate flag decals on their cars or trucks, they have that right. But that controversial emblem should not be on any state-issued license plates.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicle license board voted on this issue in April and tied 4-4 because one member was absent. A board member from Houston died June 4, and now Gov. Rick Perry must appoint the ninth member who would break the tie.
Perry should appoint someone who would not add the Confederate banner to the state’s list of approved specialty plates.
In the view of many Texans, the Confederate flag symbolizes slavery and secession. This divisive and unpatriotic image should not be perpetuated on official license plates or public buildings.
This is not about honoring the Southern way of life. The rebel flag has been revived in modern times as a symbol of racism. Some may support that viewpoint, but the state of Texas doesn’t have to help them.
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ANOTHER VIEW: Allow it
Isn’t it interesting how the people who always babble about freedom of choice and the wonders of self-expression suddenly switch gears when it comes to the Confederate flag? All of the sudden, they support censorship and conformity.
Texans should be able to express pride in their Southern heritage with specialty license plates that display the Confederate flag. They’re paying extra for the privilege, and Texans who don’t feel that way are free to take a different course.
The Confederate flag has little to do with secession or slavery. The flag stands for an honorable way of life that has sadly become eroded in modern America.
Only a tiny percentage of Confederate soldiers owned slaves, and volunteers from every Northern state fought for the Confederacy. Branding these brave men as haters is unfair and inaccurate.
Texas allows other specialty plates with political messages, and there’s no reason to exempt the Confederate flag. After all, that would be discrimination, wouldn’t it?
© 2011 Hearst Communications Inc.
