We have made our choice.
This week, the fate of two very powerful symbols has signaled where we want to go as a nation.
We have chosen to raise the Rainbow Flag, representing our collective agreement of the inclusion of people of all sexual orientations to the full citizenship rights of marriage equality. And we have collectively demanded that the Confederate Flag be taken down, having had a national realization of the toxicity of the Confederate flag as a symbol of hate and racism.
Rarely have we seen such dramatic changes take place simultaneously in our collective national consciousness and this, I believe, is not a coincidence. In fact these symbols are the flip side of each other. One is a symbol of equality, inclusion and acceptance and the other is a symbol of non-equality, exclusion and hate.
Supporters of gay rights, (whether gay or straight,) have fought for inclusion, acceptance of sexual differences, welcoming all types of family configurations and most importantly welcoming love and its expression in the life long commitment of marriage for all.
I believe, it is this attitude of acceptance and inclusion that has challenged our narrow, exclusionary way of hating, persecuting and killing those who are different from us. It is no surprise that those values of acceptance and inclusion for gay people have broken through our national denial and enabled us to see the utter hate and exclusion and diminishment of African Americans, who are still considered 'slave' outcasts as represented by the symbol of the Confederate Flag. It is this acceptance and inclusion that has challenged our narrow, exclusionary way of hating, persecuting and killing those who are different from us.
The horror of the Charleston massacre by a Confederate Flag waving terrorist this past week certainly brought us to account and perhaps a critical mass had been reached, at least about this symbol. These tragic events clearly demonstrated the toxic nature of the Confederate Flag and all it stood for.
Whatever the causal dynamics, the symbolic shift is unmistakable. The energies that brought us the Rainbow Flag victory, I believe, shattered the denial that has protected this racist symbol of the old South.
The Rainbow flag is used world wide to represent gay rights. But it has also been long used as a symbol of inclusion of all colors of people, the 'rainbow of people,' standing for full respect and citizenship for all. It is a symbol that squarely stands against persecution of any people based on race, creed, sexual orientation. The Rainbow Flag is a symbol of Community working together and getting along together. The Rainbow Flag is a symbol of Love.
The Confederate Flag is used to memorialize and glorify the South's attempt of secession from the Union, which was done in part to maintain their economic advantage of slavery. It is based on white supremacy, the abuse and murder of the African Americans, denying them full citizenship rights, and has been an instrument of division and hate. It is a symbol of the superiority of the white racist male over everyone else. And their hatred of everyone else. The Confederate Flag is a symbol of Racism and Hate.
The Confederate Flag is also the symbol that is often used to tout 'states rights' vs. federal rights, where individual rights are glorified at the expense of the good of the group. It is no surprise that the Confederate Flag waving states are extreme proponents of individual gun rights and 'stand your ground' laws, all practiced by whites and mostly white males. Can you imagine what would happen if a group of African Americans showed up at an event or went into Target armed to the teeth? The national guard would be called and it would shoot first and ask questions later. Gun rights has become a racist tool of intimidation and continuation of the slavery mentality of the South; that some are more equal than others. The Confederate Flag stands for the exclusion of all people not like itself and maintains itself on hate.
This week, our nation chose the symbols of inclusion and love and rejected a symbol of exclusion and hate. Pure and simple. This week, in these instances we chose well.
Needless to say, there is much more to do on these issues. Now we will all have to work tirelessly in the battle to fulfill the promise of these symbols. We still have a long way to go to give gay people full rights and we have an incredibly long way to go to help secure the full rights and protections for our African American brothers and sisters.
But these two symbols changed this week and now point us to giving the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all men and women, regardless of their sex, race, religion or sexual orientation.
And this is a very important factor. Because we as human beings form and get formed by our symbols. We take our power from them. So, it is vastly important to have good symbols.
It is no small matter that at least in these instances of the transformation of these symbols, the forces of Love Have Overcome Hate.