The recent tragedy in Charleston has reignited the public debate over the Confederate flag at the Statehouse. The biggest proponents of keeping the flag raised cite its historical significance for our state and its people. Many people in South Carolina (and across the nation) feel a deep connection to the Confederacy and wish to continue to honor that heritage. We at The Daily Gamecock agree that they should be able to do so — with their own "Stars and Bars" on their own property.
While individuals have every right to their opinions and to express them in a variety of different venues, government entities do not have the same liberties as the people who live under them. On the contrary, governments are intended to be as neutral as possible when it comes to contentious issues — the alternative is to allow the government to dictate the "correct" view on a host of debatable subjects. Every moment that South Carolina continues to fly the Confederate flag, the state endorses one particular interpretation of its meaning while suggesting that all others are incorrect.
It's important to remember that no one has proposed a ban on the Confederate flag. Even if it is no longer flown at the Statehouse, it can still be displayed in one's home, on one's car, in a museum or in a host of other mediums under private control. Removing the flag from the Statehouse would not be an official condemnation of the Confederacy; it would instead be a transition to the proper (neutral) stance for the government to take on a matter of personal opinion.