So is this okay now? |
It
has been an interesting week to say the least. Actually, it has been an interesting
couple of weeks. I glossed over this topic a little in my post yesterday but let's take the time now to dive a little deeper.
Yesterday
the Supreme Court issued a ruling to
legalized same sex marriage throughout the
United States. While I don’t have a
particularly strong feeling one way or the other, I was intrigued by the first sentence
of the ruling which reads, “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its
reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons,
within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity.” It was interesting
because it summed up another debate that has been happening across the United States.
This
same line could be applied to those who see the stars and bars as a means of self-expression.
While the recent history, and interpretation of history prior to the modern
era, of that flag have tainted the original perspective, there are some that
still hold onto that symbol not for the suppression that it has come to
represent but because of the ideal of state’s rights that it stood for. In that
vein, there is no denying that slavery played a role in dividing the nation but
rights are what lead the country to war.
We
have to remember that at that time most were indifferent to the institution of
slavery both in the north and the south. However, when the federal government
stripped away the rights of the states, that is what the people in the south
rallied around. Hence the terms still used to this day “The War of Northern Aggression”
and “The Battle for Southern Independence”. State’s rights is why the stars and
bars have remained in South Carolina as the state flag flying above the
capital.
But,
like many things these days, the flag offends people so it must be hidden away
and never spoken of again. Many of those same people proudly displayed a bright
flag of their own today to support the rights of people. Again, while I don’t
care one way or another, I am sure there are many people that are offended by
that display of pride. Where is the outcry to remove those flags? Shouldn’t the
same rules apply to all people and to all flags?
What
it all comes down to is that you can’t have it both ways. You either support the
rights of individuals to express themselves and live the lives they want to
lead or you want to strip away the rights from people. Frankly, I would like to
be left alone. Let me live my life, express myself openly, and enjoy my rights.
The government shouldn’t be telling people or states what to do, who to marry,
what we can own, what we can display, what we can and can’t say, and overall
how we should live our lives. Enjoy your rights and remember this… just say no
to big government!
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