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I have asked a handful of people why they fly the Confederate flag and the answer is always the same. "It's not about racism, it's about heritage," which does not answer my question. I'm not sure what that statement means. The heritage of the Confederate states? The heritage of the south?
In addition, when the South seceded, they did so illegally (not that there is any legal way to secede.) The land, infrastructure, homes, government institutions, etc. were all funded, acquired by or under the authority of the Union, and in seceding, the Confederates were in essence stealing the land, roads, and infrastructure from the Union.
Also, a prevailing idea in that the Civil War was fought over States Rights vs. Federal Jurisdiction. President Lincoln believed that if slavery was to be abolished, it was a large enough moral issue that it would have to be abolished throughout the Union as a whole in order to preserve the Union.
Finally, it could be debated that the Confederates just simply wanted to continue with slavery.
Whichever way I slice it, I still don't see a reason for flying the Confederate flag, and I don't understand "the heritage" that people are trying to remember.
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