[Lothar]

I am from a northern Mid-Atlantic state by birth. However, the Confederate flag has meaning beyond the simple-minded knee-jerk reaction of many who associate it only with racism and slavery.

Slavery would have ended even without the civil war and the notion that the war was about slavery is simply rubbish. What the Confederate flag should represent, and what the Civil War was really about, is the belief in limited federal government and the preservation of the rights of states.

One of the beauties of the 19th Century was the relative lack of influence of the federal government. The shift in power as we entered the 20th Century was a huge blow to our republic and the Confederacy represents a significant stand against run-away centralized government.