Have We Made Progress on Race or Not?

Conservatives are judging President Obama by the content of his character. Liberals are judging President Obama by the color of his skin. So who is closer to MLK's ideal? The reason liberals see racism under every bed and behind every tree is that they need minorities to vote their identity. If you vote your identity, then the results your government actually produces are irrelevant.

I grew up in Montana in the late 50's and early 60's. I spent my summers on a ranch on the Flathead Indian Reservation near St. Ignatius, Montana. The Flathead Indians were not very well off. Some Indians were hunting just to get enough to eat. They would literally shoot fish with a .22 because it was legal for them and easier than hooks and bait. My family was unpopular locally with other ranch owners because we paid "white wages" to Indians working on our ranch.

There is a BIG difference today. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes run several profitable businesses including timber operations and an electronics factory as well as a luxury hotel and casino. They have established Salish and Kootenai College, which grants both 2 year and 4 year degrees. They even have a permitting process for tourists using their land for camping. (When I visited, I found out that Lower Mission Falls, where my family used to picnic, was tribal land and I needed a permit.) The point is that they have made immense progress through their own hard work. To pretend that everything is still the same is to demean their accomplishments.

In the larger picture, liberals pretending that racism is still rampant throughout the US demean the accomplishments of countless individuals who started with nothing and improved themselves and their families against the odds with hard work and study. It's just wrong, and worse, it's a cynical lie told merely to further leftist political fortunes because liberal governments have no accomplishments they can point to. 

Confederate Battle Flag is Not Appropriate on State Capitol Grounds

A recent article by David French discussed the Confederate Battle Flag that flies over the Confederate war memorial on the state capitol grounds in Columbia, South Carolina.  Mr. French discusses the subject from the point of view of his Virginia family, which fought in the American Revolution, the Confederate Army, and most of America's wars since.  My family history starts early in Virginia, similarly to Mr. French's, then veers off. My ancestors from Virginia fought in the French and Indian War, where one of them served with Col. Washington, as well as the American Revolution. However, they decided that slavery was wrong. The last slaves my family owned were freed and sent to Liberia in about 1855 with money to buy land once they got there. My family did not think it was safe for them to remain in Virginia. My family then moved to California and stayed out of the Civil War as a result.

I can understand displaying the Confederate Battle Flag only in the context of war memorials and war cemeteries. However, in both cases, I think any of the official Confederate States government flags would be less incendiary, although less acceptable to Mr. French. I think that the Battle flag on the grounds of the state capitol is not appropriate, even if it's over a Civil War memorial.  It’s ironic that the Confederate Battle flag was originally displayed over war memorials and war cemeteries because the veterans wanted to be associated with the Confederate Army and not the Confederate government.  However, now the Battle Flag has assumed a different meaning.

It is the unfortunate truth that the Confederate Battle flag was appropriated by some extremely racist bigots as the symbol of their resistance to integration. Since this misappropriation occurred during living memory, it remains the way the Battle flag is understood by the vast majority of the admittedly ignorant population. It's hard for most people to identify the dates of the Civil War within 25 or even 50 years. The details of the conflict beyond the basics are not clear to most. I don't see any way this misunderstanding can be corrected in the next 50 years. Perhaps giving the flag a rest will allow it to return to its original meaning as the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420060/confederate-flag-should-stay-charleston-shooting-debate