Here is something I wrote a couple of years ago and forgot about. In cleaning out some files I found it again and thought I would share it with you. I normally stay away from Politics and Religion, but this one I feel strongly about.
It's always nice to see your hometown in the news. And for me that means Ocala, Fl.
We live in central Florida, some thirty minutes south of Gainesville and ninety minutes north west of Orlando. The Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west are just short drives away. Not to mention the 'Mouse House' in Orlando.
Everyone knows that our most famous resident is John Travolta. It's great sitting in our back yard as that famous jet flies overhead on the way to a private air strip north of town.
We are also the hometown of the 60's pop band 'The Royal Guardsmen'. Tom Petty was raised just north of Ocala in Gainesville. Bo Diddley spent his last years in Archer, just north of us. Steve Morse also lives here and can occasionally be seen at the downtown Ocala Starbucks.
Who, you ask? Steve is the guitarist for 'Deep Purple.' And many years ago I met the sound man for 'Blue Oyster Cult' at a dinner party. He lived just down the street.
Some famous people have come and gone. Actor Patrick O'Neal was born and raised here. Reba McEntire boarded her horses near Ocala, and the late New York Yankee owner George Steinbrener owned a large motel just off of I-75.
But recently, Ocala was in the news for a completely different reason.
About twenty years ago, the Marion county commission decided it would be a good idea to display the five flags of all the countries that at one time ruled over the state of Florida. So they erected the flags at the government complex on the east side of town.
Soon the flags of United States, Great Britain, France, Spain, and the Confederacy swayed in the breeze above the complex.
And all was well.
Until that terrible day in Charleston, when a lone gunman went to a Bible study meeting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and murdered nine innocent people during a prayer service. What a coward.
Authorities found that gunman Dylann Roof had a web site that included a manifesto detailing his beliefs on race, as well as photographs showing him posing with emblems associated with white supremacy. His photos of the Confederate Battle Flag started a new debate over its public display.
Soon cries were heard demanding the removal of the flag. Tempers were raised and a protest was held.
The flag was removed for a time, but soon the Commission citing 'historical accuracy' ordered the flag restored.
More protests ensued.
Those who wanted the flag removed cried, “the flag is a symbol of racism”.
I have no answer to that statement. To me, it was never my flag. I was born 86 years after the civil war came to an end. And, as we all know, history has a way of being re-written. And that war was 150 years ago. All those involved are long dead and buried. Isn't time we did the same thing?
Should we remove all the flags, make it so we never have to look at them again? Do we ban all use of the 'Stars and Bars'? Wouldn't that be infringing on other peoples rights given to them by our own Constitution?
All because that low life skum in Charleston honored the confederate flag? Should we ban boxer shorts as well? (I am making an assumption here)
Do we let Dylann Roof win?
The flag did not murder those innocent people. A human did. Just like at Columbine, The West Nickel Mines School, Virginia Tech, and of course 9-11.
Let's put the blame where it belongs.
In our society, we have people who do not belong or deserve to be with the rest of us. They can not function in our society. Some are mental, some are just bad seeds. And it has nothing to do with the flag they carry.
Don't we have more to worry about ? More important problems to solve?
As a white man I can not imagine how the black community feels about the flag. I would be a hypocrate if I claimed to “feel their pain.” But I will say this: I never owned a slave. The thought of it goes against everything within my being. I am sure my ancestors owned slaves back in the old days, but that has nothing to do with me.
I went to an inner city Indiana High School in the late 60's. I never had a problem. I played sports next to black kids, I marched in the band and I studied with them. I was friends with them. We survived the terrible year of 1968 together.
I hold true to what Dr. King said. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." And I have tried to live my life that way.
Should we forget about the Confederate flag and what it represented? Should we forget about Nazi Germany and what those fascists did? Will you ever forget 9-11?
I say 'hell no!'
George Santayana wrote in Volume One of Reason in Common Sense, 'Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'
We should honor the southern heritage. And that flag is a part of that heritage. Our ancestors were not perfect and neither are we.
I came here from the north. I tell people that I'm 'Northern by birth and Southern by choice.'
Leave the flag flying. And when we walk past it with our kids and/or grandchildren, lets remind them of where we all came from and how we got here. Those five flags are a part of our Florida history. Let's not deprive our young of a chance to learn about Florida history. Teach them who we are and where we are going as a society. Let's show them by our own actions that racism is wrong and not tolerated in our society.Show them that in today's world you can be anything and anyone you desire.
Let's honor Dr. King and show them our 'character'.
For those who hate the flag, look at it and be proud of your ancesters who lived through those horrible times. Honor them by holding your head high. Marvel at how far we as a society have come.
We have come a long way and still have far to go. But we are making progress. Don't let one crack pot in South Carolina ruin what we have accomplished over the last fifty years.
Let's stop focusing on a past that we had no part of and can not change. We should be moving forward, not backwards.
Use the tradgedy in Charleston as a way to open up a dialogue. If we bow to 'political correctness', we are doomed as a society.
All the best.
NOTE: Pictures are from the Ocala Star Banner
