I get the historical aspect of the Stars and Bars. But when all is said and done it's a repugnant symbol. And while I get the fact that many who served in the Confederacy's military were simply defending their home soil the cause for which they fought was morally bankrupt.
I feel the same way about WWII German army related things. Sorry, folks, you may have thought you were fighting for Germany, but you were actually fighting for the morally bankrupt Nazi regime. (So in one respect, I get the Antifa position; that they claim they're fighting against modern-day Nazis. But that position is equally flawed as the German antifascist league they take their cues from was under the control of the equally morally bankrupt regime in Moscow.)*
What's interesting is how much push-back I received over the years about all three (the Confederacy, Germany, & the Soviet Union). The Confederate and German armies were "cool" because they both had some really talented generals. But I could never get my point across that while one can respect the military acumen of these generals, that respect for the military art shouldn't come across as hitting the "like" button for the regimes they operated under. I respect Lee, Rommel, and Zhukov (for example) as generals, but they were still wrong in the main thing and don't get an ounce of credit from me for their political choice.
Which leads me to the Army (and possibly Air Force) fort/base names. There's another thing I have never understood. Yes, to rally the troops during WWI these bases were named for Southern "heroes" and the Army had a long tradition of naming forts after notable folks. But it was a really flawed choice/tradition in this case. It would have been much better if the Army/Air Force did what the Navy & USMC do: names designating bases from geography.
Finally, Juan Williams had an excellent point today on
The Five that speaks to the flaw here: without even mentioning slavery, he asked why would we want to name bases after folks who fought to dissolve the Union? An excellent take. And they were losers!
So maybe this might not be a popular opinion in some circles, but here it is: I don't like the Stars and Bars, the Swastika, or the Hammer & Sickle. Not a fan of the Rising Sun and the PRC "yellow stars on red background," either. But I do love me them Stars & Stripes and I would hope others do as well.
EDIT (post-
@UglyBear "like"): I get it; history is complicated and we shouldn't apply modern standards to past events. I agree. But still, we can (and should) correct obvious errors. It shouldn't have gotten to the point where changes are being made as a result from pressure by the mob. Because we've then (a) lost the moral high ground and (b) emboldened the mob.
*To be fair, what went on in Germany & Austria in the Inter-War Years (especially, the Austrian Anschluss) is a fascinating and heart-breaking study in having to figure out the lesser of two evils.
--- End of line (MCP)
and that’s it.