Since the middle of June our heritage has been under nearly constant attack from the media, academia, so-called "civil rights" organizations (ie. NAACP, SPLC, NAN), and plenty of uneducated and/or misinformed individuals with a social-media soapbox to stand on. Many of us have watched in horror as lie after lie is told about our beloved Confederacy, it's soldiers, & it's symbols. This is the first of what I hope to be several posts intended to debunk the myths, expose the lies, and set the record straight regarding such matters. The effort I'm engaging in is called "apologetics," which is defined by Merriam-Webster as "systematic argumentative discourse in defense."
Today we're going to take a look at one of the most erroneous claims being spread by those who seek to mar our ancestors' good names. This lie has been promoted by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Slate.com, ABC News, & MSNBC, and has been thrown around like some sort of "trump card" that gives them perceived instant victory in any discussion regarding the matter.
THE LIE:
William T. Thompson, the creator of the Confederate Battle Flag, explicitly stated that the flag was designed with overt racism in mind, saying "[a]s a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause… Such a flag…would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as the white man's flag."
While sometimes the lie doesn't even mention the name of the flag's designer, on face value this seems like a game changing cannonball, but I'm here today to help you see that this cannonball is nothing more than an empty shell. Let's take this apart and separate fact from fiction.
THE TRUTH:
[I originally had planned to author a lengthy post debunking this myth and shedding light on the facts, but I found that such an article already exists. So if you'd like to read the continuation of this thought, click the following link to go and check out the 'Take Back Our History' blog's excellent piece regarding the matter.]
DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms, SCV Camp #1321
