CONFEDERATE FLAG HAS DIFFERENT MEANINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE

Who is discriminated against in flag flap?

I'm sick and tired of the NAACP telling me the meaning of the Confederate flag. No one has the right to impose their attitudes on me because of their perception of this symbol of the South. In my heart, the Confederate flag symbolizes the traditions of the old South-chivalry, respect for women, pride. I do not think of slavery when I view the Confederate flag any more than I think of black supremacy when I see Malcolm X fashions.

The South Carolina legislature caved in this week to the economic boycott staged by the media and the NAACP. They voted Thursday to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse and place it on a monument for Confederate dead near the entrance to the state capitol. The NAACP says that's not acceptable and has promised to continue the boycott.

I did not protest when the NAACP lobbied for lower college admission standards for black athletes even though many white athletes who do meet the current standards would suffer from the change. I did not protest when the NAACP threatened television networks over a lack of black performers even though the current complexion of network programming mirrors almost identically the racial make-up of this country. But the Confederate flag flap is about a symbol that is "perceived" as something it is not. And we are now all being forced to accept this "perception" even though it runs counter to our personal beliefs.

Discrimination in any form is abhorrent and repulsive. Discrimination cannot and will not be tolerated by a civilized society. It runs counter to all beliefs held by civilized man and it should be fought vigorously. Yet one man's discrimination is another's intrusion on those beliefs that are held dear. And I will always be offended when some group tries to tell me how to feel or believe.

In college I was a member of a fraternity whose flag was the Confederate flag. Our motto was God and Ladies. We held in high esteem the traditions of the old South. But slavery or discrimination were not among those traditions. We believed in respect for women, in helping those in need, in lending a hand for the less fortunate, in consideration for others. And now I'm told how wrong I was to hold that symbol in such high regard.

Our nation should mourn this loss of respect for a symbol that has been used for a political purpose. We have allowed others to tell us that our hearts are wrong. We have allowed others to use the Confederate flag as a lightening rod for their own gain. And we should be sad that we didn't raise our voices in the face of this wrong.

Michael Jensen, Sikeston Standard Democrat

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Here's to You, Mr. Robinson

In the current issue of U.S. News & World Report, columnist John Leo tells of 40 students at the State University of New York-Albany who objected to the use of the word "picnic" in referring to an event honoring Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. The students charged racism, claiming that the word "picnic" originally referred to lynching blacks.

To the contrary, Leo notes, "Picnic comes from a 17th-century French word for a social gathering in which each person brings a different food." That didn't stop affirmative action director Zaheer Mustafa from putting out a memo asking student leaders not to use the word "picnic." He said, "Whether the claims are true or not, the point is the word offended." Publicity for the event then changed the word to "outing." After homosexual students objected to that word, Leo says, the event "was publicized without a noun describing what was going on."

What's offensive is seeing people distracted from honoring a baseball great because of others whose ideology requires them to shy away from dictionaries.

Washington Update

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Are Journalists Getting Religion?

The Center for Media and Public Affairs and the Ethics and Public Policy Center recently released a study called "Media Coverage of Religion in America 1969-1998." Interestingly enough, the study found that the amount of news about religion doubled from the 1980s to the 1990s and that the segment of journalists in the major media who regularly attend religious services more than doubled from 14 percent in 1980 to 30 percent in 1995.

Those with no religious affiliation dropped from 50 percent to 22 percent during the same period. One problem, however, is that news about religion tended to emphasize its political dimension while neglecting the role of theology or spirituality.

Only one story in 14 mentioned any religious beliefs or doctrines. At a session in which Center for Media and Public Affairs President Robert Lichter discussed the study, Newsweek's Religion Editor Kenneth Woodward, who has covered religion there since 1964, credited the rise in media coverage to the "religious right."

On any given day we see disturbing headlines about the condition of our country, but perhaps those headlines, when examined over time, also show how religious believers are pointing it in a better direction.

Washington Update

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Sexy TV

It's not your imagination. The Parents Television Council says the past 10 years have seen a tripling in the levels of sex, violence and profanity on television. Their report compares prime time programming in 1989 and 1999. References to kinky sex increased 357 percent.

Reacting to the report, some members of Congress are calling for hearings on TV program content.

Electronic Media

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What Are You Thankful For?

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

* the mess to clean up after a party, because it means I have been surrounded by friends;

* the taxes I pay, because it means that I am employed;

* the clothes that fit too snugly, because it means I have enough to eat;

* my shadow which watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine;

* a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home;

* all the complaining I hear about our government, because it means I live in a country which has freedom of speech;

* the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking;

* my huge heating bill, because it means I have a heater and am warm;

* the lady behind me in church who sings off key, because it means I can hear;

* the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby;

* weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been productive;

* the loud music my children are playing on their CD players, because it means they are home and are safe;

* the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means I am still alive.

What are you thankful for? As listed above we can legitimately complain about a lot of things and stuff around us, but here is a whole new way of looking at things.

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.