Support for Confederate flag puts US in bad light

In a letter defending the Confederate flag, Mike Carrington (July 18) stood up for his southern heritage. May I retaliate by saying I am from the north and as of it proud of it as he is of his. However, the flag of the United States with its red and white stripes and its field of stars is the symbol of my heritage.

“Too bad,” he says, that there were slaves in the United States. So I guess he feels that the ownership of human beings to do field and farm work was just fine. No doubt the southern “gentlemen” of those days were not about to pay local folks to do the necessary work if they could own bodies that would do as they were told.

We have come to sad times in America that this kind of thinking has risen to such heights. I did not grow up in such a divided atmosphere. Most of my friends’ parents came from a varied European background as did I. I often wonder how and when this all fell apart. (And aside from World War I, I’ve lived through the other wars he mentioned with all their negative associations.)

I will grant Mr. Carrington his “heritage” but it does not shine the best light on our country’s early beginnings and our ultimate break with a nation that repressed people with views with which they disagreed.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Support for Confederate flag puts US in bad light."