I read the article that David B. Anderson wrote and can understand why he feels the way he does when he sees a Confederate flag on display.

I believe that the Confederate flag would be appropriate to display at burial sites fo fallen Confederate soldiers, in museums and the like, but when it is displayed on vehicles and private homes it can be interpreted as a sign of discrimination against African-Americans. Although I understand that some of the people that fly it use it to make a statement that they are a “rebel” it can very well be interpreted that the owner of the flag is a racist. Why would anyone want to put themselves in a position that would question their motives for flying this flag?

The Civil War was fought about 150 years ago and almost every American adult knows what the outcome was, and we should never forget this important era of history. When I see the Confederate flag I have respect for all of our fellow Americans who died in this terrible war. The enemy was determined by the soil that you lived on, but they were all Americans fighting to protect their family and their homeland. More than 620,000 (Civil War experts will say that it was more like 700,000) died in that war and a good share of them were Southerners, defending their homeland. We Americans should always remember and honor our fellow Americans who fought in all of our wars, both home and abroad. We should never put up an invisible fence and honor only the side we choose to honor. The Civil War often pitted father against son and brother against brother. It was a terrible war that must be remembered as a war that formed an important cornerstone in the building of America and its end result was the freeing of the slaves from bondage so that they too could enjoy the freedom enjoyed by all Americans. The Civil War was a just and good war for all of mankind that lived on the soil that we call the United States of America.

Another important fact is that the Civil War was not started solely because of the slavery issue. The slavery issue was added to the cause after the war was in its third year and gave Northern states yet another just and righteous reason to rally their troops and citizens, putting them on the side of God. One of the reasons for this move was to get slaves to join the Union Army to replenish their dwindling troops caused by the casualties of the long, drawn out war. This was a successful achievement as the slaves were more than willing to fight for their freedom and dignity of their race. Lincoln, who was against slavery, never hid his feelings on this issue and his winning of the Presidency had a lot to do with Southern states breaking from the Union. However, the northern states would not permit the splitting of the Union because it would weaken our country and this was the main reason for the Civil War.

Unfortunately, America has an ugly side to its past, like all nations; it grew and expanded from coast to coast by hook or by crook. We cheated and stole from the Indians and flew “Old Glory” over their land.

Like all humans, we are all flawed and should not try to condemn our fellow man when he does not conform to our ideas on how every American should behave. However, good judgement and respect for all Americans should be a common practice. As Mr. Anderson correctly stated at the beginning of his article, “Our Constitution guarantees the freedom to express your opinions and ideas and a free exchange of these is a crucial pillar in a healthy democracy.”

Well said, David B. Anderson.

James Sebastian Auria is a Jamestown resident.