Flags,
Kindnesses, and Other Mid-summer Musings
Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, 7/25/20
Sorry,
but on my desk in a mug full of pencils stands my little 4x6 Confederate flag.
Beside it is another 4x6 flag, Old Glory. Those are the two flags, one or both
of which all of my immediate kin have lived under. I love both flags.
No, the Confederate flag is not evil. And
those who say it is are guilty of judging a thing by its misrepresentation.
Should Christians abandon the cross symbol simply because the KKK sullied it?
Then why should those of us with Southern ancestry abandon the Confederate flag
just because it too has been sullied or misrepresented by one group or another?
It’s a piece of history.
The
Confederate flag is all about regional love and allegiance. How many of the
Confederate troops do you suppose had the defense of slavery on their minds as
they fought, bled and died? How many ordinary Civil War-era Southerners, most
of whom were dirt poor, were dedicated to maintaining the institution of
slavery?
When
the Civil War began in 1861, South Carolina, the first state to secede, had
been a state for only 73 years. Do you suspect there may have been many South
Carolinians who still had deeper love for their own region than for the vast,
growing nation they had joined? If the states were wrong to secede from the
union, was America wrong to separate from Britain? Of course we didn’t call
that separation secession, or Brexit, but that’s exactly what it was.
Cave,
cave, cave. That’s what people do when they are afraid to fight, or when it’s
not politically expedient, or when they think they will suffer economically.
Wherever they lie buried, Cicero, Robert E. Lee, and Churchill are weeping.
They were not cavers. Those who taint Robert E. Lee show their ignorance of him.
If Georgians cave on Stone Mountain, …
But
on to a positive note. In the midst of the coronavirus season, kindness is
being reported everywhere. Fast food managers have reported that many who are
driving through to order their burgers, etc. are paying for the vehicle right
behind them. Tipping generously in various and sundry venues has been
widespread. When I said to a young man in business for himself who had just
repaired my garage door, “If it won’t mess up your books, I’m going to add a
little to this bill,” he thanked me profusely and broke down.
As
a whole, Americans of all races are still good people. We know what is meant by
“neighbor” and “fellow citizen.” That’s one reason the expression, “white
privilege,” is misleading. Anyone who believes they are privileged should do
something about it like divesting themselves of it by giving some of it away.
Otherwise quit saying it…
Verbal
silliness is getting out of hand. Whatever “woke” means, the fashionable word
is bound to die soon. I’m praying. Even the word science is being manipulated.
(More about the “man” in man-ipulated in a moment.) Politicians and media stars
are trying to deify the word, science: “We must follow the science,” “The
president doesn’t believe in science,” or “Everybody knows that such and such
is settled science.” Thinking people will ask, “Whose science? Ptolemy’s or
Galileo’s? Isaac Newton’s or Albert Einstein’s?” “Albert Einstein’s or Andrea
Chez’s?” Professor Chez, professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA says, “Einstein
is right about relativity, at least for now.”
Chez rightly implies that true science is never settled. But invoke the
word science and you’re considered smart.
More
verbal silliness: the UK Royal Navy has banned the words “manpower” and
“unmanned.” (Guess those words are man-ipulative.) We know enough about the proper
Brits to know they would never originate such silliness. They caught it from
us…
Kudos
to churches and other religious entities that rejected Payroll Protection
money. My pastor, Dr. Perry Fowler of Kennesaw First Baptist Church has led the
church and school in not accepting it, urging us to “put our faith in action
and trust God to provide.” God has. Pastor Fowler added, “Our community’s small
businesses need assistance and we don’t need to limit their opportunities if
they desire to take the loan.”
Amen. Also, when
churches accept money from the government they allow the government’s foot in
the door and strengthen the argument for the taxation of churches …
Beware
of “training” these days, especially if you work for a corporation. It’s simple indoctrination. If the “training” is
about racism, sexism, diversity, same sex marriage, or hate crimes, you can be
sure someone is insisting that you think as they think. All of this “sensitivity
training” is the most un-American thing going.
Happy
summer! Stay free.
Roger Hines
7/23/20
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