The Confederate battle flag could soon be flying on top of the Greene County courthouse — above a monument to the county’s Union soldiers on the town square — if a new resolution put forth by a county commissioner is passed next week. Monday’s Greene County Commission meeting will kick off with the resolution at 6 p.m., sponsored by Commissioner James “Buddy” Randolph.
I have a huge problem with the iconoclastic frenzy frothing to expunge the Confederate battle flag from every corner of the United States. I think it's repulsively stupid and offensive that The Dukes of Hazzard can't be shown on TV because someone might see the decor on the General Lee and need counseling and/or a cash payout for emotional trauma.
To the fainting couch--eek!
Likewise the banning of the battle flag from Amazon and eBay. It's cheap moral preening and point-scoring that does nothing to help anyone, but gets applause from the practitioners of Approved Thinking and Narratives.
Hey, Amazon--how about paying your employees more and not treating them like crap?
No? Easier to gain applause from your fellow lefties by banning a flag, amirite?
Got it. All that said, the battle flag does not belong flying over a governmental building. Nowhere, nohow. No.
Especially not in eastern Tennessee, a bastion of Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. We do a beyond-poor job of remembering Southern Unionists, and this bit of Orwellian flag-waving buries their memories even deeper. There are better ways to honor the Confederate minority in that part of the country.
I sincerely hope this resolution is rejected. Resoundingly.
Funny, I grew up in Chattanooga and can tell you that no one there remembers the area being a bastion of union sentiment. I haven't ever known anyone truly from upper East Tennessee so can't comment on that.
ReplyDeleteChattanooga wasn't. It was tied into the economy of western Tennessee and Georgia thanks to its rail routes. But you had north of there--and definitely before you reach Knoxville--there the Unionists were very strong.
ReplyDeleteMost of these units were from eastern Tennessee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tennessee_Union_Civil_War_units