LETTERS: THOUGHTS ON CONFEDERACY

To the editor:

I would like to address these Confederate issues that have been expressed in the paper lately.

The reason why the southern states left the Union was the South didn't feel it was being duly represented in the federal government. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution gave the states the right to leave the Union if a state did not feel it was being duly represented. That is why there were never any Confederate leaders brought up on any war crimes, because to do that would have given the South the chance to prove war was declared on the Confederacy illegally.

The Union government would have liked the people to believe the war was fought over the "evil" of slavery. That is how it justified its actions against the southern states. Did they bother to mention that the vast majority of slave ships were from the New England states and proudly flew the Stars and Stripes on their many voyages? Did they bother to mention that the ships came back crammed full of African natives which they sold to the South. The money they lined their pockets with built empires that would go on to exploit Asians working on the railroads and Native Americans.

The Confederate flag is not a racist symbol. It is used by racists, which brings disgust to those of us who respect and love our Confederate heritage. The Ku Klux Klan uses it as one of its symbols of hate, but it also burns crosses. Shall we ban crosses because the Klan uses it in hate? Klan members claim to be Christians and do God's work. Shall we ban Christianity because the Klan uses it in its defense?

I only ask that people educate themselves. Seek out the truth. The truth is that the majority of those who fought and died for the Confederacy were normal farmers who never owned slaves but felt the federal government was not representing their best interests anymore. They fought for the freedom of the states to govern themselves to each state's needs.

If I fly my Confederate flag on my property or put Confederate bumper stickers on my car, it is because I am proud of my heritage. I am a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Richard Taylor Camp, Shreveport, La. I heard one time that "poor is the nation that has no heroes. Shameful is the nation that has them and forgets."

PAUL and TERRI BOGUES

Jackson