Charleston: a Beacon of Civility

When the awful news of the Charleston massacre was televised, I immediately contacted my nephew, a fellow New Yorker, who has a winter home in the heart of Charleston.

Having visited Charleston, the "holy city", for the first time last year, I was extremely impressed by the charm and placidity of the city and the grace, amiability and propriety of the Charlestonians themselves. Frankly, I lamented my return to New York State following that most pleasant of visits. Charleston is a very special place, indeed. 

When the awful news of the Charleston church massacre was televised, I immediately sent the following text to my nephew who was at his summer home in upstate New York:

"When I visit you again in Charleston this winter, let's be sure to check out the church where the massacre occurred. By the way, because Charleston folks have class and dignity I am not worried about Ferguson or Baltimore-like insanity and turmoil in the wake of this monstrous shooting no matter how much inciting by the likes of racist dividers Sharpton and Obama. For the first time in a very long time, the country will vividly see how a civilized American city behaves in a disaster. Charleston will prove to be a beacon of civility and Christianity." My nephew promptly agreed.

And so it has been. 

And, by the way, this dopey caterwauling about taking down the Confederate Flag in Charleston is obscenely stupid, insulting and short-sighted. If we are to rid ourselves of flags which remind us of the evils of slavery, then EVERY flag flown in the United States since 1776 must be eliminated as well. Under those banners, and under the protection of union law, slavery flourished.

Let's hope Charlestonians do not succumb to this insipid and mindless demand to take down their state flag. For me, the Confederate Flag is an honorable reminder of the pre-eminence of federalism and the inherent right of a State to break from any union which would abridge its constitutional sovereignty. The flag is also a tribute to those hundreds of thousands of Southern patriots--which include blacks as well--who selflessly and heroically gave their lives in defense of their independence. These patriots' sacrifices should never be forgotten or impugned. They are no less heroic than those thousands of Union soldiers who gave their lives to impose an "indivisible union" upon the country and to end slavery in the Confederate States of America.

Postscript: Under pressure, Gov. Haley folded on June 23rd. To maintain "unity" and "harmony, she has called for the removal of the Confederate Flag from the capitol in Columbia.  Pavlovian, to say the least. Yank their chain, and good people will blindly yield. Of course, removing the flag won't solve the problem of racist terrorism, which is anything but widespread in any case. But no matter. And further gun control won't prevent such massacres in the future, but that won't matter either. The utopians and big government types will continue to use human tragedies to coldly advance their political agendas and to strengthen their political control over our lives. Mindless political correctness--blaming inanimate symbols for our woes instead of the causes for those woes--triumphs yet again. Flags aren't racist, no more than guns are racist. I'm afraid the country has become hopelessly insane, a situation which pleases only those who wish to dominate us. Good thing Dylann Roof wasn't sporting an American Flag which, by the way, is already under relentless siege by the America-haters on the left.