Take down the flag, but don't forget history

   In the aftermath of the recent tragedy in Charleston, the Confederate Battle Flag is in the news again, with renewed calls to remove the flag from the South Carolina state house and several national retailers, including Amazon, saying they will no longer sell merchandise bearing the banner. In pondering this issue, I find I am of two minds. On one hand, I support the removal of the flag from the South Carolina state house, and state houses nationwide. On the other, I believe the decision to stop selling merchandise bearing the flag is short-sighted, and is a decision we will ultimately regret.
   Removing the Confederate Battle Flag from South Carolina's (and other) state houses is a move that is long overdue. Supporters of the flag have long claimed that the flag is not about hate, that it is a symbol of Southern pride and heritage. Maybe it started out that way, but the truth is, right or wrong, it has been hijacked by hate groups such as the KKK and other white supremacist groups. It is the symbol that flew over the Jim Crow South while blacks were denied basic human rights, while black churches were bombed and while an unknown number of innocent blacks were lynched. It is the symbol of a failed nation -- the Confederacy -- that fought for state's rights, yes, but that also fought to maintain an economy that was based largely on the subjugation and abuse of an entire race. It's no wonder that blacks still find the flag offensive. The Civil War may be long over, but the truth is, blacks were still being treated as subhuman as recently as 50 years ago. That's not something you get over quickly, if ever. So the flag should be removed from state houses nationwide because each state house belongs to the people of that state, no matter their race. What purpose does it serve to fly a flag that symbolizes hate and oppression to a significant number of that state's residents? Answer: There's no justifiable reason for keeping the flag.
   On the other hand, I don't want to see the Confederate Battle Flag disappear completely. It's true that it represents hate and oppression for blacks everywhere, but it's also true that it's a symbol of a past we can't afford to forget.
   Look, our history isn't as nice and neat and shiny as we'd like it to be. And we aren't always the heroes on the right side of every issue. The truth is, our history is dirty and full of shameful acts. Our nation did engage in the slave trade for almost 400 years. Our nation did slaughter thousands of innocent Native Americans and steal their land. More recently, we did hold hundreds of terror suspects indefinitely and engage in torture. We did secretly wiretap the phones of innocent Americans. And the list could go on.
   The point is this: As much as we would like to rewrite history, to always cast ourselves as the "good guys," we have done some horrible things, and we shouldn't allow ourselves to forget them just because they are painful, or because they cast our country in a bad light.
    I once interviewed an Auschwitz survivor who had endured unimaginable suffering. During our interview, I noticed that she still had the tattoo on her arm given to her by her captors. When I asked her why she would keep a reminder of such a painful time, she said: "I keep it because I don't want to forget what happened, and I don't want to allow others to forget what happened, either."
   She's right. As painful as it is to admit that the South once endorsed slavery in this country, then fought a war to maintain it, it did happen. Removing all traces of the Confederate Battle Flag from the public square won't change that. And truthfully, it's a chapter in our history we shouldn't allow ourselves to forget.