Is there a confederate flag on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee?

[Major]

I saw a pickup truck in Laconia last week with a U.S. flag and a Confederate flag. I thought to myself "you don't see that too often in these parts!"

During my Army experience, I worked with a lot of Southerners, who proudly placed the Confederate flag on their vehicles, in their dorm rooms, etc. At that time (1985-early 1990's) the Confederate flag was not synonymous with racism. My colleagues were truly proud Southerners, and not in any way (at least as far as I knew) racist. We were all green. We were integrated, and frankly, racism wasn't tolerated.

I am not too naïve to understand that racism existed back then as it does today. However, what happened to the time in which sticks and stones will break my bones but names (and symbols) will never hurt me? Over the past 30 or so years, one's words are far more important than one's actions. It is a slippery slope, and we've seen it in the news. Pretty soon any mention of our greatest founding fathers will be prohibited. We are not too far away.

And a final observation, it seems that the supply of racism falls way short of the demand. The peddling of racism is a big business. That's why we get so outraged when we see something like a Confederate flag.