by Carly Mack

Created on: December 16, 2008   Last Updated: February 03, 2009

As we know, Pride can be a double-edged sword. The Confederate flag is a reminder, honoring those who fought and died beneath its furl, just as did those wearing union blue and flying Old Glory [Stars and Stripes]. To ban one would necessitate banning the other, creating the need to design a new flag. Our entire country honors Old Glory, for many reasons, all noble and many long before the civil war. Asking history to extinguish the memory of such an historical event simply dismisses the motivation behind this debate.

The problem is not with the flag but how and why certain groups resent it. There will always be prejudice, whether for color, opinion, class, religion or gender. There is no stopping it. It will never go away. The problem is people. The Confederate flag represents people, people who were fighting for more than simply the right to own a slave. We tend to forget things over time. This country has suffered deep wounds on its way toward progress and will continue to do so because that is what progress is, the struggle for a better way.

As long as there are those who choose to cling to old notions and perpetuate grief, rather than use the gained knowledge to create a better world, we will have dissention and prejudice.

I find nothing more irritating and erroneous than to hear someone say, "we are all the same". We are NOT all the same and I thank the creator for that. Bless the differences we have, for if we did not, there would be nothing to learn from. Nothing to put color into our life or world. The solution is acceptance. First we must accept who we are, the value of our contribution and then we can be able to consider the acceptance of others. To insist that we are the same is to deny who we truly are and that is a sacrifice that many are unwilling to make. That we are entitled to the same rights and treatment, under the laws of this country is closer to the truth and is, by far, more acceptible.

I discovered, at a young age, that if you are bothered or hurt by what another says or does, the best reaction is none at all. I can thank my lovely grandmother for that. I used to get all firey hot about something and she would laugh. You could have started a bonfire just by having a pile of wood within 10 feet of me. I never quite got it, not until I matured. My grandmother accepted people for who they were. That did not mean she considered all her friend but you certainly weren't about get her riled with your thoughtless behavior. If she didn't like a

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