Could We Please All Decide on One Flag?

Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes, the flag of the United States of America. We all grew up pledging allegiance to this symbol. It is carried all over the world as a symbol of unity, of freedom and justice for all of our citizens. It has been changed and adapted over the years as more states joined the Union. We try to teach our children proper respect, and the proper ways to display our banner. On this topic, the majority of us easily agree.

          Another flag has recently been in the news, and although we don’t enjoy controversy and disagreement, this flag is bound to be discussed in many places in our country, especially in the South. I’m referring to the Confederate  Battle Flag, the banner that is remembered for  representing  the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

          I believe that the Confederate flag has a proper place in American culture. It is a part of our history, and should be used to commemorate a great struggle that defined our country. The definition of Commemorate is to use a symbol or a ceremony to remind people of an important event or person from the past. Children today will not remember the Civil War, nor will their parents or grandparents. A commemoration is proper, to be sure that they know about this pivotal point in their country’s history.

          Some form of the Confederate flag is often used by people who have no intention of teaching hatred. They are simply showing how proud they are to live in the south. It was famously displayed on the top of a great car in a 1980s TV series that still plays in reruns.  However, for someone whose family and friends have endured abuse and dishonor for generations, this symbol causes only fear and pain.

          I suppose the closest my family can come to understanding the negative feelings generated by this flag is to recall a painful chapter in our own family tree. My husband’s mother was a descendant of one of the survivors of the Mountain Meadows massacre. The infamous attack on the wagon train from Arkansas occurred before the Civil War. It took a long time for the surviving children to come home and tell their story. For years, the murderers covered up and denied what had really happened. Justice was a long time coming, and the families here at home never quite got over that event, even as the original survivors died off. As the attack  finally became a part of the past, the family continued to teach their children the truth of that terrible day.

          Imagine if, over a hundred years later, there was still someone coming to Arkansas, disturbing our peaceful lives to remind us of the hateful things that happened so long ago, and even suggesting that the murders were somehow justified.  How would we feel? Of course, the people who were responsible are long dead, but the emotions would be easily stirred again.

          The atrocities committed against our black friends and neighbors did not stop at the end of the war. Shamefully, they continued into the twentieth century. Many people who are still alive witnessed terrible things that were done to their families simply because of the way they looked, or where they lived. If the Confederate flag revives those memories, it is totally understandable that they would be upset.

          After the terrible murders in South Carolina, we must place ourselves in the shoes of those who have been so recently harmed. Those people were targeted for no other reason than the color of their skin. This is a hard truth, but one that we must face squarely. Those who were killed had welcomed this young man with open arms. If we could speak to them now, they would most likely tell us that they have forgiven him. That is the kind of people they were. But those of us who remain owe them something. It is time to make a change. Time to put the past firmly behind us and move on to the future.

          This week, I have seen many people displaying the Confederate flag “Just because I can.” I agree wholeheartedly that they have the right to do so. People have died defending their right to do and say whatever they want. However, when we have a chance to make a positive statement, rather than a negative one, we should think twice about doing something just because we can. If our expression becomes a stumbling block for someone else, is it really worth it? We are also allowed to reach out in love to all of our brothers and sisters. Isn’t this a much better way to spend our time?

          On a battlefield important to the Civil War, President Lincoln dedicated his Gettysburg Address to “a new birth of freedom.” We have a perfectly good banner to rally around. One that promotes freedom for all, and unity of purpose. Let’s keep the Confederate flag for special commemorations and to honor the graves of its soldiers. Let’s put things of the past in the past. Going forward, let’s all display the American flag with pride. One nation under God,  indivisible. With liberty and justice for ALL.

Why the USA?

Fireworks explode overhead. Children make designs in the air with hot, sparkly rods of metal. Bands play songs that are impossible to listen to without tapping our toes to the rhythm. It’s all a part of the annual birthday party that is uniquely American. Looking around in the crowd, we see so many different types of people, each with their own story.
Each branch of our family tree has its own tales. Older family members have passed them along, some as simple narration of facts, others with much embellishment and bravado. All together, they make up the rich fabric that makes us who we are today.
My dad’s side of the family, the McLeods, originated in Scotland. My grandpa’s grandpa and grandma arrived in the US around 1880. Times had been hard in the Scottish Highlands. John McLeod came to America first, and after moving from the Pennsylvania coal mines to Eastern Kansas, he sent for his wife, Mary Whiteford McLeod. She and her four small boys set out across the Atlantic, and in the midst of the difficult journey, their fifth son was born. Once in Kansas, they left the dark world of the mines to become ranchers.
My Mother’s grandfather, Karl Maurer came to America just a few years earlier from Germany. Not speaking any English or having any family in his new home, he enlisted in the Army. His several tours of duty took him through Oklahoma, Kansas, and points west. Because the army was engaged with making the frontier safe for white settlers, much of his time was spent working with the Indians. After a twenty year military career and becoming an American citizen, he married the daughter of an Army musician. Though twenty years younger, she was also of good German stock. They settled near his last assignment, the Presidio in California.
My husband’s family stories all take place in the United States. It seems that on both sides, his ancestors have been in America much longer than mine.
The Carlisle legend centers around four brothers who were shipwrecked in North Carolina. Though I haven’t been able to verify the shipwreck, the location is correct, and for generations, there is a tradition of Carlisle boys traveling and settling together. As to where they came from, or why, indications seem to lead to the importance of their faith. During the Revolutionary war, they were not soldiers, but there is a Carlisle who was a shoemaker that traveled with the Army. Conscientious objector? After moving to Mississippi, they were reportedly Mennonites. In Arkansas, they are listed as founders of a church in Grant County. Doing what is needed for the local congregation is a tradition that continues today.
My husband’s Grandpa Weaver’s grandmother was a survivor of the tragic massacre at Mountain Meadows in Utah in 1857. After returning home to Arkansas, these children made it their life’s mission to share the truth of what had happened to their families. Though the official story involved an Indian attack, the children had seen past the war paint and recognized the murderers as the same Mormon settlers who had earlier promised to protect the wealthy wagon train. Their courage helped bring the story out, and the misguided zealots to justice.
What’s your story? I know you have more than one. Have you shared it with your children and grandchildren? If they don’t seem interested now, write it down. Someday, they will want to know, and they will be proud to understand more about where they came from.
Whether or not you know why your ancestors came here, these stories are so uniquely American. Nowhere else on earth do so many different threads converge into such a rich, warm quilt.
Happy Birthday America! We love to hear your stories!

The Whole Truth-Like it or Not

Donald Trump and I have something in common. He and I share Scottish Ancestry. Also- he’s one of the wealthiest people in the world and I’m ….. not. But seriously, his mother was a MacLeod who was actually born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. This means that his family and mine originated from the same clan many centuries ago. There are many wonderful people all over the world that share this heritage. Our clan motto is Hold Fast, and our symbol is the bull. Many of the people we have married are not surprised at all to hear these two facts.

In Scotland, the story of the MacLeods is typical of many Highland families. Filled with strong-willed people who survived against terrific odds, and along the way, a lot of bloodshed. When we teach our children about their history, it wouldn’t do to gloss things over. The violence and feuding may seem senseless to us now, but it’s still part of the past; part of the truth that made us all who we are today.

James’ family has their own legends. His mother was the great-grand-daughter of Nancy Sophronia Huff, who as a small girl, survived the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah. This horrible event in 1857 wiped out all of the adults and many of the children in a huge wagon train that was traveling from Northwest Arkansas to California. Immediately after the attack, the local people tried to convince the rest of the country that Indians had been responsible. But, because of the determination of the children that were allowed to live, and the guilty consciences of a few of the perpetrators, the truth came out. When the children grew up, many, including Nancy, insisted to anyone who would listen that the attack was carried out by the Mormon people who had promised to protect them. A very hard truth to accept, even over 150 years later.

Here in the South, we have another uncomfortable issue in our past. Disagreements about whether the residents of each State should have the right to govern themselves caused the great conflict that split our nation, and took generations to heal. At the core of the conflict, as we all know, was the fact that some states wanted to allow ownership of human beings as slaves. Perhaps this issue would have resolved itself without a war, but like it or not, our history includes a terrible struggle that should never be forgotten. Southern people know that bitterness this big is not forgotten for many, many years. Unfortunately, even in the next century when the descendants of those slaves were ready for equal rights, there was another struggle. Those who couldn’t let go of the past used the Civil war symbols of the Confederate flag and the song “Dixie” for hateful purposes. As wonderful and nostalgic as that song is, to some who lived through riots and lynching, “Old times there are not forgotten.”

My new friend, historian Janis Percefull loves to study and write about the history of Hot Springs. Even in her Children’s book, “Three Strangers Come to Call” she mentions that all was not sweetness and light in the nation’s first National Park. Many people came here with the idea that the government was going to completely support them while they received a miracle cure for all of their ills. Most found out that there was no free ride, and they were left to their own devices in the spa city. Knowing this doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a beautiful place to live, but it’s good to remember the whole story, not just the “pretty” parts.

I heard that the State of Texas is revising the way their public school children learn about history. Present day politics is driving not only what views the children learn about, but even which names are included. For example, the biographies of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln may not make the cut. What? I think this is the most dangerous story in the news today. Right up there with terrorism in Times Square. Parents and grandparents, you must be on guard to make sure future generations get an accurate picture of where they came from. Otherwise, how can we really learn from the past and make the future better?

History is fascinating, and worth studying. We shouldn’t try to cover up the unpleasant parts. It’s all a part of who we are. So, this July 4, I want to wish the USA a very happy birthday. We love our country, warts and all.