It's Time To Ban The Confederate Flag Everywhere

  The Civil War was about states' rights... to own human beings. Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan tried to appease the Southerners that represented less than 20% of the population, despite being from New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania respectively. Fillmore passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which subjected any Northerners who refused to return fugitive slaves to treason charges; Pierce passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to a violent reignition of the slavery debate; Buchanan intervened to ensure the Dred Scott Decision's outcome and refused to intervene when the Southern states seceded.

Nowhere is blind nationalism with no regard for human suffering more blatant than in the states that love the Confederate flag, a symbol of the aforementioned treason. The flag, which is oddly the naval flag of traitors who sought to preserve among the worst instances of human cruelty in history, has become a symbol of "Southern heritage." Luckily, this is beginning to change. In the wake of the George Floyd murder, NASCAR announced that they would be banning the Confederate flag from their events. As a person who enjoys racing, I was quite happy with the news, and I was even more pleased with the news that Mississippi would change their flag design. The Confederate flag was even banned from military bases (although the Pride flag was, as well).

     Despite the blatant racism, the blaring hypocrisy from those who blast Colin Kaepernick, and the recent progress, people persist on parading the past of racism and injustice around as if it were a source of pride. What is the solution? The flag itself needs to be banned. Public display of the Confederate flag, as well as its manufacture and distribution, needs to be made a misdemeanor that results in fines, community service, and, if offenders repeat, jail time. They should also be placed on a registry of hate criminals (that restricts them from voting) in the same way that sexual predators, and now some animal abusers, are. 

     This may seem drastic to some people, but, unless drastic action is taken, these public displays of racism that tarnish America's reputation and cause people of color to live in fear will continue, 150 years past their welcome.