CSA Flag Racism and Bigotry?

Isn’t the Confederate flag a symbol of bigotry and racism? Even though the Naval Jack, which most critics call “the Confederate flag,” has been abused by racist groups, often in an attempt to gain favor with Southerners who love their flag, the flag does not lose its honorable history. It was born from a powerful Christian symbol, the Cross of St. Andrew, and developed for use by troops defending their homes against an aggressor in a war they preferred not to fight. As the soldier’s flag, it represents the honor and valor of those who answered the call of duty.

Abuse of the flag by any other group is just that—abuse—and a distortion of its true meaning and its real symbolism.

But, if critics argue that any Confederate flag is a symbol of bigotry and racism, because it has been displayed by racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, then they must also be prepared to pull the Stars and Stripes off of every flag pole in the nation and the Christian flag out of every church, because these flags have been equally abused by racist groups. The KKK regularly flies the Stars and Stripes and Christian flags, often in far larger numbers than the Confederate battle flag, though nobody calls for the abolition of these abused symbols.

This is because people of good faith recognize that these symbols are being abused, and dismiss the abusers’ attempt to distort the truth. The exact same standard should be applied to the Confederate battle flag.