Persuasive Essay: The Confederate Flag As A Symbol Of Hate

Essay by MccaddenSucksA+, April 2004

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By: Lee A. Zito

Driving around I notice many different bumper stickers on a huge variety of cars. Bumper stickers can tell you a lot about a person whom you might not really know. For instance, band stickers can tell you what type of music the person driving might listen to. A person might stick a religious sticker on their car to openly share their spiritual faith and beliefs. There are humorous and sarcastic novelty stickers too, with slogans like, "Ex-lovers make great speed bumps."

As Americans we have the freedom to express what we think and feel. Even so, there is one kind of symbolism that I have a tough time tolerating and that is the confederate flag. This symbol, usually stuck to the back of some guy's old beat up truck, tells me he's probably from the South, and that he's probably a racist.

In 1861, when the Confederacy was created, the flag was their symbol of Southern pride.

It was flown high in battle, and used to cover their fallen brothers of the South. That symbol stood for everything the South believed in, including slavery. Slavery was the infamous reason the South seceded from the Union. They felt it was their right to practice this immoral act. ("Confederate Flag Controversy." Brummer, Borgona. Infoplease.com.)

"And this (Civil War) for the sake of slavery, for the sake of an institution that forbids millions of men and women to marry, to rear their children, to read their prayer book!" (Strong, Diary of The Civil War p.618)

After the Civil War at the time of the South's reconstruction was when the extremist hate group known as the Ku Klux Klan was founded. These men were supporters of the Confederacy who wanted to maintain all ideas of their flag, right...