Tag Archives: Sons of Confederate Veterans

State news

Honor end of Civil War by not honoring it

Think of the term “Civil War.” Is there a greater oxymoron in the English language than that?

War, by definition, is hardly “civil,” if you go by one definition explained in most dictionaries.

And yet, as R.G. Ratliffe notes in his latest Texas Monthly blog, Texas keeps resurrecting memories of the Civil War. He notes as well that the state is going commemorate a sesquicentennial on April 9, which is the 150th year since Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to U.S. Army Gen. U.S. Grant at Appomattox, Va.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/civil-war-ended-150-years-ago-lets-move

So … let’s get over it, shall we?

The most notorious remembrance of the Civil War is the case that’s being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court to display the Stars and Bars on Texas license plates. The Sons of Confederate Veterans says the flag merely honors Southern heritage. Many of us think otherwise. It’s a symbol of bloody, gruesome conflict. It’s also a symbol, in many eyes, of slave ownership — which offends the millions of African-Americans, not to mention many more millions of whites, who live in Texas.

The upcoming sesquicentennial provides a good time for Texans to put this war behind us.

Texas was on the losing side of this conflict, which killed more than 600,000 Americans. Texas seceded from the Union and sought to join a new nation founded on the notion that “states’ rights” trumped federal law. Texans went to war against the United States of America, thus committing a serious act of treason against the nation.

Do we really want to keep reminding ourselves of this?

I hope not.

The Civil War is over. Done. History.

Let’s allow our children and grandchildren to study it in school, discuss it among themselves and with their teachers and parents. Let us cease reliving it.

legal news, State news

Let's define 'Southern heritage'

The Sons of the Confederate Veterans are going to have a steep hill to climb in defending a flag that one time symbolized an act of treason.

Many of us out here will be all ears.

At issue is an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over Texas’s refusal to allow the display of the Confederate flag on motor vehicle license plates. The state says the design is offensive to millions of Texans, as it reminds them of the Confederacy’s declaration of war against the United States of America. And, yes, slavery was one of the issues that brought about the Civil War.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans say the flag merely depicts “Southern heritage.”

Really?

Does that “heritage” include the Confederate States of America going to war with the United States? Does it mean we should honor the effort of a collection of Southern states that sought to split the United States apart? Do we honor the war that killed roughly 600,000 Americans — Southerners and Northerners — on battlefields throughout the nation?

And do we honor “Southern heritage” by displaying a flag that symbolizes modern-day hate groups who’ve committed horrifying acts of barbarism and cruelty against African-Americans?

I want the Supreme Court justices to ask the Sons of Confederate Veterans legal team questions that deal with some of these issues.

 

legal news, State news

Supreme Court to hear Confederate plate case

1 Comment

This is going to be an interesting case headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans think Texas license plates should carry a design that includes the Confederate flag. Millions of Texans are on their side. Millions of other Texans — as yours truly — think the design is offensive in the extreme.

http://www.texastribune.org/2015/03/21/supreme-court-consider-confederate-license-plates/

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has denied the design, citing a state law that says it can deny a specialty plate ā€œif the design might be offensive to any member of the public.ā€Ā Former Gov. Rick Perry opposed the design, citing its offensiveness to millions of Texans.

Cut-and-dried, yes? Hardly.

The Sons of the Confederacy think a denial deprives the organization of freedom of speech.

Here’s how the Texas Tribune reported the sequence of events: “The group challenged the DMVā€™s decision in federal court, but a district judge upheld the state’s decision to restrict what it determined to be offensive content. The Sons of Confederate Veterans appealed to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court’s decision. The court said the DMV had unlawfully discriminated against the Confederate group’s beliefs that the flag was a symbol of Southern heritage in favor of those who were offended by it.”

Southern heritage? I suppose it does represent oneĀ element of Southern heritage. That segment happens to include a Civil War that killed 600,000 Americans, a war that was fought over the South’s contention that states had the right to do certain things — such as sanction slavery.

The Confederate flag in the 150-plus years since the end of the Civil War has become a symbol of hate groups who fly the flag proudly whenever they’re protesting issues, such as granting all Americans — including African-American — the right to vote.

The symbol is offensive and should not adorn motor vehicle license plates.

I just hope the Supreme Court sees it that way, too.