Sons Boy Scout troop went to a Civil War battle reenactment this past weekend (Friday thru Sunday aft.). They were there to help with parking and then clean up when it was over. He(they all) enjoyed the weekend. Son bought a Confedrate flag, paid $36 for it....I scolded him for spending that much on a flag...until he pulled it out of the bag. Heavy 100% cotton field with bars and stars of similar matrial sewn on. It was not a cheaply made printed flag.
He now has a US flag with 13 stars in a circle, a Marine Corps flag and a Confederate flag on his bedroom wall....we got it all covered... 
Oh, and he got a bumpersticker with a confederate flag on it and the words "FIGHTING TERRORISM SINCE 1861"...sorry but I'm not putting that on my pickup.
This is American History. As a Yankee coming from family that fought the south and those family's that sided with them, WTF, this is history. Got to give the South great respect for their bravery and fight for states rights.
Few in the war owned slaves on either side. This was not about race, it was a war of Conservatives against the Liberal North.
I have no problem with the Stars and Bars, as a Yankee the past generations earned respect on both sides.
Head on south and check out the grave yards with thousands of stones with the metal marker of CSA, Americans that fought and died for their rights to to defend their American life style.
Disrespect of the Stars and Bars is what bothers me. The descendants of the brave and loyal South need to be proud of their heritage, their family shed blood and tears on the battle ground for there beliefs at the time.
As a Yankee who lost family in the battles in the North, I have to be proud of the family that split and went south to fight. This had little to do with slavery, few people up here had ever seen a African man or woman, unless they lived in a city or a town that welcomed the Run Aways and hid them.
In the North most of the upheaval was caused by the Pastors of Churches in outlaying towns to put this war as a religious war to free slaves. Whole towns were emptied of men and boys to head south to free people that they had no idea who they were or what they looked like.
TWO sides to every story, both sides the uneducated brought into a war by either political reasons or the Religious groups at the time.
After the war ended neither side gave a crap about the slaves liberated, millions in the north and south were just released to the wild as some do today with unwanted pets. Southern restoration was for the Whites, Northern Carpet Baggier ran for the south to loot what they could find.
Hell of a mess, until the freed slaves got their feet under them and began to open stores and get an education. The North was open to them to become capitalists, own and buy land, go to school and become what ever they could.
The South was more Conservative and had a fear of former slaves perhaps gaining more influence and becoming wealthier then they.
Interesting history in how we became America-----Only when the white administration put a stop to the growing wealth and influence of the ancestors of the slaves did we stop or try to stop the growing affluence of the Blacks by passing the welfare bill that broke the family's apart. Cleaver and sneaky, all society has an under belly and this was the target.
Off subject but the Stars and Bars are as American to me as the Stars and Stripes. Nothing about the flag is raciest to me, just a reminder of past glory for our ancestors lived and died for.
