One Dicey, Screwed-Up Symbol

Let's say you are among those supporters of the Confederate flag who do not associate it even in the least with white supremacy, slavery, or the attempted dissolution of the United States. Wouldn't you still say to yourself, "I know my motives are pure, but I also know that for countless millions, black, white, and otherwise, it's a vile, hateful symbol of the worst that our country has offered. Basically, when we fly it, it's perceived as an extended middle finger to huge swaths of the population. I disagree, but I also feel our future as united people is more important, so it's just not worth it to keep flying and promoting it."

More people are finally saying this, but did it really take a massacre of good people to bring us to this place of common sense and decency? Could it not have been self-evident earlier? Are these "rights" more important than our responsibilities? I give Mitt Romney credit for forcing the issue among the G.O.P., and helping to get us to a place of small, but potentially real improvement.The cowardice of the current candidates was quite striking, though.