Confederate Flag Persuasive Essay

A recent hot-button subject in the media has been what to do with Confederate monuments in the South. After the removal of a statue honoring Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederate Army considered by many to be a hero for the part he played in the American Civil War, a clear divide has formed over whether it was the right thing to do. Some agree with this choice, calling the statues remnants from a time of racial oppression in the United States. Others are outraged, considering it desecration of their proud history. Still others don't understand either side of the issue, and see it as a pointless feud. It is imperative to understand that to many people, these are more than just statues. Whether their impression is positive or negative, this issue goes beyond physical monuments.

President Trump took to Twitter back in August to proclaim his dissatisfaction with the country. The topic was the removal of Confederate statues. He claimed that they are “beautiful monuments to our history and culture.” Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that he was wrong. The fact that president trump is blatantly endorsing a horribly racist part of our nation's history shows a lot about him as not only a person but as a president. Confederate statues and monuments need to be removed all throughout the USA because they are strongly linked to racism. People may argue that the flag and monuments aren’t about racism because “that isn’t what the war was about”

Is America more racist now than it was 60 years ago? Of course not, yet America is more polarized than it’s ever been. Even on issues that are mere trifles, Americans cannot seem to agree upon anything. One of these seemingly pointless issues is whether the rectangular Second Confederate Navy Jack and the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia, or as many people call the “confederate flag”, should be banned. It is difficult to discern what exactly set off this movement, the fact of the matter is that the confederate flag has been used for years with no apparent backlash, but has become an issue of controversy. This debate has raised legitimate concern especially in regards to its use amongst federal institutions such as South Carolina flying it over the State House. However, this movement has pushed its way past that into the personal realm. Many have come to the belief that it must be banned on all accounts. Certainly, believing in something enough to fight for it is admirable— something that truly defines what the USA stands for; however, when emotion is used to wrongfully conclude, and in this case, ban a flag without true factual evidence, there becomes a problem. The basis of this argument is that the flag inherently represents racism due to the Southern United States’ history of slavery. This thesis, although noble in motive, neglects the facts of history and logic. The “confederate flag” should not be banned on a personal basis because it would wrongfully and fictitiously

The controversy of the showing of the confederate flag is something huge. You have the bunch that does not like the flag, and then there is the group of individuals the support and fly the flag with pride. There are five states that have laws, in their own state, that state it is illegal to burn or deface the confederate flag. On surface, these state laws would seem to conflict the 5-4 decision made by the Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson. The controversial case in 1989 that held up the burning the flag as an act of protected free speech. (As it is stated under the First Amendment.)

Recently history has hit the headlines. The overwhelming issue of whether or not Confederate monuments should be removed has many up in arms- in some cases, such as Charlottesville, Virgina, literally. Those for the removal of the statues argue that they honor a cruel regime and support white supremacy, while those opposing the removal argue that removing the statues would damage the preservation of America's history and lead to the removal of statues depicting other historical figures like President George Washington. The article "Confederate monuments should be removed in their entirety and it shouldn’t even be an argument" by Lucas Johnson on The Badger Herald website, argues the pro-removal side of the issue. Johnson's article is a prime example of the pro removal argument as he seeks to convince the reader to agree with his stance on the issue by using historical facts and addressing the connection white supremacists feel towards monuments from that era in an attempt to sway his audience to his side of the dispute.

In light of the recent Confederate statue debate, a Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 50% of likely voters agreed with President Trump’s tweet that it is “[s]ad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.”

The Confederate flag is justified because people in the south shouldn’t be flying the flag even though it’s their flag they are just making the U.S. look bad when they are flying the American flag and the Confederate flag. The Confederate flag was a symbol of pride for most of the southerners, they thought they could have put their flag on anything they could and they fought for it and wanted to keep their slaves. I think the Confederate flag should have been taken down a long time ago because they shouldn’t have taken this down before we had the United States flag out and put it in front of the White house instead of the Confederate flag flying out there before we had the American flag made.

The issue of whether or not the Confederate statues is in huge debate. Some think that the monuments stand for a lost cause of racism and white pride while others believe the statues should continue to stand for history and reembrace purposes. But should the federal government do anything about the statues?

Should the Mississippi flag be flown; well, I’m going to give you everyone’s point of view. Some argue that the Mississippi flag is demeaning, disrespectful, and should be taken down. Others believe it is an emblem of our heritage and should stay up. Other people believe it is a symbol of racism, and some even think it isn’t what people say it mean.

“The US flag is a symbol of great pride” (Hills 2016). Ethan D. Hill from the University of Georgia states this, just as all Americans should know this. The American flag is a representation for the strength and power of this country and all that it has gone through. With that being said, not everyone sees the American flag in this way. Some take it upon themselves to show firsthand disrespect to the flag in desecrating it. Desecration is the act of burning something, in this case it is burning the flag that symbolizes the freedom of this great nation. It is obvious to most that this act should be illegal, seeing as there is no reason good enough to hurt the country in this way; however, some Americans believe otherwise.

Can the same flag that symbolizes southern heritage also be a symbol of hate? In 2015, a tragic shooting occurred at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charlestown, South Carolina. The Charleston shooter, Dylan Roof, was charged with killing nine African-Americans. After this horrible act, he waved the confederate flag in photographs sparking an issue with the flag. Two articles were released concerning whether or not the confederate flag should be removed from the South Carolina capitol. The first article, “Take Down the Confederate Flag, Symbol of Hatred”, was released by The New York Times editorial board on June 22, 2015. This article proposed that the flag should be removed. Following the release of this article, on June 24, 2015 “Keep the Confederate Flag Flying” was released by Selwyn Duke claiming the flag should remain. In these articles, both authors incorporated persona, audience, tone and style to effectively argue whether or not the flag should remain to Americans who may side with their argument.

The Confederate flag is justified because people in the south shouldn’t be flying the flag even though it’s their flag they are just making the U.S. look bad when they are flying the American flag and the Confederate flag. The Confederate flag was a symbol of pride for most of the southerners, they thought they could have put their flag on anything they could and they fought for it and wanted to keep their slaves. I think the Confederate flag should have been taken down a long time ago because they shouldn’t have taken this down before we had the United States flag out and put it in front of the White house instead of the Confederate flag flying out there before we had the American flag made.

The debate over whether to tear down the Confederate monuments or to let them stand has turned many peaceful protests into violent clashes, Jessica Suerth, a writer for CNN, reported that this debate started back when Dylann Roof intended to start a race war by killing nine African Americans at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. After that, in a recent white nationalist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counter protester was killed amidst the clash between the two sides the two sides. Since these two incidents, many have begun to question the reason for the Confederate monuments, the meaning that they have, and their value in today's society. Some believe that the Confederate monuments are here to honor their heritage and remind

Confederate States of America, the name adopted by the federation of 11 slave holding Southern states of the United States that seceded from the Union and were arrayed against the national government during the American Civil War.

According to Scott and Edles, the habitus is “As an acquired system of generative schemes, the habitus makes possible the free production of all thoughts, perceptions and actions inherent in the condition of its production. In short, it is through the habitus that one acquires a “sense of one’s place” in the world or a “point of view” from which one is able to interpret one’s own actions as well as the actions of others.” People learn how to connect with their everyday lives through previously learned behavior. It is even easier if the veterans was born to a family that is part of the military life style, which make the dangers of being part of a constant fight for freedom to more satisfying. Thus, for many veterans, the American Flag is something that they gave their life for and upheld with so much pride. For a veterans, the American Flag is a way of life that many individual will never have the opportunity to experience in their lifetime. It represents what they spend their lives fighting for, some four years while others spend a lifetime. Because fighting for freedom is their way of protecting their flag, and they flag to them represent their home. These behaviors and self-dedication to the country is what according to many critics makes an individual a real American.