Slavery was atrocious and wrong, and I don't support that being an issue of the war at all. That said, I am not in favor of necessarily banning things like the flag or statues etc. The men who fought in that war were just human beings who wanted to get home to their families, thousands dying and never getting that chance. Those symbols are part of our history and heritage whether we like it or not. They are not racist in and of themselves... PEOPLE are racist and misuse them for that purpose which is equally as wrong. Groups like the kkk also carry the American flag and the Christian flag, but it's funny that nothing is ever said about that. Slavery may have been a part of our history and ancestry, but there isn't a soul alive today that has any direct association with it. No White person today has ever been a slave owner, just as no black person has ever been a slave. It's in the past and that is where we should leave it. There is nothing wrong with being proud of one's heritage and or ancestry...I'm proud to be a southerner and that blemish not withstanding, there's a lot more to be proud of. No country, culture. or race is 100% unblemished and innocent in their history yet it seems that U.S. southerners are picked on the most. And our country wasn't the only one who took blacks as slaves, yet it seems that ours is the only one where they make the biggest fuss and deal about it. I apologize if I have offended or angered anyone that isn't my intention, I just feel like this needed to be said. This will never heal or get any better as long as the issue is continuously brought up and the pot is stirred.

Action, reaction.