I'm writing this post from the American Airlines' Admiral's Club at LAX. Beside me sits my new bulldog, VIVI, who's already endured two plane rides (one from Atlanta to DFW, the other from DFW to LAX). We're both waiting eagerly for our connecting flight to San Luis Obispo - home! - where Amie and the boys are giddy with anticipation of the arrival of our sweet, little puppy.
I spent roughly 49 hours in Georgia on this trip. Over the course of that time, I drove all over Georgia: from Atlanta to Roswell to Valdosta to Athens, back to Roswell and then to Atlanta. It was wonderful to be back. More details about the trip later.
Being in Georgia got me thinking of all Things Southern. There is a tradition of, well...traditions in Georgia. One Georgia tradition that
got a lot of attention over the past few years has had to do with Georgia's state flag. I won't bore you, dear reader with a concise history of Georgia's flag...just its most recent chapters. Georgia, like many states who had aligned with the Confederacy during the Civil War, had opted to revise their state flag to include that often misunderstood (and misappropriated) symbol, "the stars and bars" of the Confederate Battle Flag. Georgia adopted this flag in 1956...mainly as a snub to growing pressure to integrate. Certainly there are many who fiercly disagree with this assertion. They instead hold to a conviction that the Battle Flag was meant to commemorate Georgia's history...a rich history that included taking the C.S.A.'s side in the Civil War (commonly known hereabouts as "the recent war of Yankee aggression"). While you can hold to this belief, the blatant timing of this new flag belied the true intentions.
Fast forward nearly 50 years later, and the ever-growing wave of political correctness made it inevitable that this flag had to go. Those who held that there was no room these days for a Confederate symbol on the state's flag had finally won their argument. Sadly, the resultant need for a new Georgia flag - and a need to appeal to all sides of the argument - led to a 'design by committee'. And, in a result all too typical of committee work, the flag that was adopted (on January 30th, 2001) well and truly sucked. Luckily, most everyone else agreed that this flag sucked, and Georgians set out to change their flag yet again.
Finally, on May 8, 2003, a new flag was unveiled:
Simple, straightforward and beautiful, huh? Seems to have it all...the famous Arch installed in Athens, GA at the entrance to the University of Georgia (which has long been a part of the Seal of the Great State of Georgia), the strong, American-inspired red, white and blue colors, and 13 stars representing the original 13 colonies...of which Georgia was number 13. Certainly, this was/is a flag that the state's citizens could rally behind, no?
It seems as though they have. All sides seem to have embraced the new Georgia flag. But, if you know anything about your Civil War history, this flag is all too familiar:
The new Georgia flag is, in fact, a slightly altered version of the flag of a flag that was adopted by the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.
It never ceases to amaze me that this new flag has not stirred up controversy. Seems the old 'stars and bars' of the Confederate Battle Flag - a flag which many people think was the Confederate flag - was the problem. So what if the new flag is a lot closer to an actual Confederate sentiment than the old one. I guess it's all about perception, huh?
Are you looking for something really funny? Check out the fine folks at humor-blogs.com.
I spent roughly 49 hours in Georgia on this trip. Over the course of that time, I drove all over Georgia: from Atlanta to Roswell to Valdosta to Athens, back to Roswell and then to Atlanta. It was wonderful to be back. More details about the trip later.
Being in Georgia got me thinking of all Things Southern. There is a tradition of, well...traditions in Georgia. One Georgia tradition that
got a lot of attention over the past few years has had to do with Georgia's state flag. I won't bore you, dear reader with a concise history of Georgia's flag...just its most recent chapters. Georgia, like many states who had aligned with the Confederacy during the Civil War, had opted to revise their state flag to include that often misunderstood (and misappropriated) symbol, "the stars and bars" of the Confederate Battle Flag. Georgia adopted this flag in 1956...mainly as a snub to growing pressure to integrate. Certainly there are many who fiercly disagree with this assertion. They instead hold to a conviction that the Battle Flag was meant to commemorate Georgia's history...a rich history that included taking the C.S.A.'s side in the Civil War (commonly known hereabouts as "the recent war of Yankee aggression"). While you can hold to this belief, the blatant timing of this new flag belied the true intentions.
Fast forward nearly 50 years later, and the ever-growing wave of political correctness made it inevitable that this flag had to go. Those who held that there was no room these days for a Confederate symbol on the state's flag had finally won their argument. Sadly, the resultant need for a new Georgia flag - and a need to appeal to all sides of the argument - led to a 'design by committee'. And, in a result all too typical of committee work, the flag that was adopted (on January 30th, 2001) well and truly sucked. Luckily, most everyone else agreed that this flag sucked, and Georgians set out to change their flag yet again.
Finally, on May 8, 2003, a new flag was unveiled:
Simple, straightforward and beautiful, huh? Seems to have it all...the famous Arch installed in Athens, GA at the entrance to the University of Georgia (which has long been a part of the Seal of the Great State of Georgia), the strong, American-inspired red, white and blue colors, and 13 stars representing the original 13 colonies...of which Georgia was number 13. Certainly, this was/is a flag that the state's citizens could rally behind, no?It seems as though they have. All sides seem to have embraced the new Georgia flag. But, if you know anything about your Civil War history, this flag is all too familiar:
The new Georgia flag is, in fact, a slightly altered version of the flag of a flag that was adopted by the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.It never ceases to amaze me that this new flag has not stirred up controversy. Seems the old 'stars and bars' of the Confederate Battle Flag - a flag which many people think was the Confederate flag - was the problem. So what if the new flag is a lot closer to an actual Confederate sentiment than the old one. I guess it's all about perception, huh?
Are you looking for something really funny? Check out the fine folks at humor-blogs.com.
2 comments:
I blame the Dukes of Hazzard for this.
forget Hell
Post a Comment