To many of us in the brotherhood

of those who did, the battle flag is not an icon of anyone's subjection

but a historic reminder of whence we come. The vast majority of white

Southerners were not slave owning planters and most Confederate enlistees

were not prepared to lay down their lives to safeguard that perverse institution.

These farm boys, for the most part, were protecting their state and their

homes from invasion and destruction and were ready to die trying. A great

many did.

I am proud of my father's grandfather

who fought under this banner alongside his three brothers with the 43rd

Georgia Volunteer Infantry, and I'm proud of my mother's great-grandfather,

a German-born music professor who started a factory in Atlanta to make

drums for the Confederacy.

What I am not proud of is the

way many descendants of these brave Confederates sat on their hands with

their mouths shut and allowed racists and hate-mongers to commandeer the

Confederate battle flag and change forever the way the rest of the world

perceives it. Where were the "Sons of Confederate Veterans"

when the true meaning of the battle flag was being hijacked and subverted?

Where were the "United Daughters of the Confederacy"? Where

were all of us, Confederate descendants, when we could have stood up and

laid claim to our flag's heritage? We had our heads buried in the sands

of complacency.

While those who share a Confederate

heritage wish the battle flag would be afforded the public respect we

feel it deserves, it never will be. You can thank those from our own midst

who have sabotaged its historical substance. You can thank those who attached

a dark, sinister twist to the red, white and blue Saint Andrew's Cross,

the banner under which our farm-boy ancestors bled and died. And, for

good measure, you can also thank the so-called "civil rights leaders"

who drag it up like a boogieman to scare the more ignorant of their followers.

This occurs like clockwork every time they run out of real issues or the

news media starts to ignore them. These racial opportunists who demand

respect for themselves have made a blood sport of demonizing anyone who

tries to pay tribute to the memory of their ancestor's bravery, no matter

how principled and sincere that person's motives might be.

To supporters of the 1956 Georgia

state flag, the struggle is over. Honor the Confederate battle flag in

a way your heart leads you, but I would caution you against holding Sonny

Perdue's feet too close to the fire on this divisive issue. For your trouble

you might just get a governor even more Machiavellian than Barnes next

time around.

Viewed through the prism of

today's political reality, the chance of seeing the golden reflection

of this beautiful and storied banner atop the Georgia capitol dome is

"Gone with the ..." oh well, you know the rest.

Nick Ryder (airline pilot and

history buff)

Griffin

[email protected]