Why would anyone, not a racist bigot, display a Confederate Battle Flag symbol? 

     The flag Calvin is on is the 7th MO Vol Cavalry flag (although after all the work Granny and Mom put into maintaining it (I doubt there is more than a just a little bit that is original.)  I recently added a battle flag front plate, to the F250 Diesel farm truck.  Never have I thought of myself as ostentatious, or one that embraces those famous last words: "Watch This!"  So, why did I do it? 

     My cousin gave it to me year ago January, when it became certain that the official records of a local battle are wrong, and family stories of the battle are closer to being true.  It rattled around in the floor board of the truck for over a year (giving it a proper beat up appearance - almost threw it out a couple of times.)  As I started reading more and more personalized Civil War accounts of what those living then thought; it became obvious that the cog was missing the gear.  Meaning, what I had thought (near to accepted dogma,) was full of falsehoods, outright lies, and manipulation so everyone could be on the same page: War for, about, and caused by Slavery, Lincoln as soon as possible freed all the Slaves, the Southern man who fought was either a member of a ruling Oligarchy (who so benefited from slavery they could imagine no other life,) or poor dumb country hicks (tricked into fighting the Oligarch's war.)      

    Then, The Statue, of Robert Edward Lee, was taken away from public view, place names of schools, streets, parks, military bases, etc. were changed. The reasons for what was happening did not match reality.  Vilified my ancestors, my childhood caregiver, my self, my home, and our shared history, because of an untrue narrative.  A narrative that diminishes my childhood Aunty Sally (the first person I ever remember picking me up from a childhood boo boo, and saying: "You'll be OK, I love you." (last words the important ones.)  You who just see a redneck racist, who wish to erase any good, that might have made it out of that horrible invasion, not only want to erase Lee, Jackson, duty, valor, and taking care of your own, you diminish Aunty, her ancestors, their struggle, triumphs and loses, when you just want to hide everything. 

     Don't mess with Aunty Sally, she worked hard in her struggle, and did not let it turn her heart into a frozen wasteland of hate.  I put the plate on.