A Defense of the Rebel Flag

 
I’ve been wearing my old rebel baseball cap a lot lately—a blue cap with a red, white, and blue Confederate battle-flag patch and a yellow “CSA” (Confederate States of America). I bought it 15 to 20 years ago from a company in Chamblee, Georgia, called Graham Caps. I wanted it because the rebel flag (Confederate battle flag) has always appealed to my natural independent-mindedness and love of individual liberty. But I never wore it much, until all of the BLM/virus insanity/hysteria started, with the twisting and subversion of American culture, the warping and erasing of American history, and the destruction of statues and monuments dedicated to great American (including Confederate) heroes. So, I wear it now to PO the ignorant, brainwashed masses (who have been told the Confederate flag is something to hate and fear) and to help me make my stand for the traditional American values of freedom, liberty, personal independence, and distrust of authority figures and conventional wisdom. These things are as American as apple pie—and they are all virtually extinct today, killed by an increasingly powerful Left and a pathetically weak Right. But these values are alive and well in my brain, and I believe that my rebel cap is representative of the values. 

I have always been a free-thinking rebel against conventional ways of thinking—and I always will be—and I have always admired and been influenced by other rebels. That’s why I wear my rebel cap with pride.

My rebel cap goes especially well with the face mask that I wear when I go into grocery stores and other public places in which the communist/fascist Illinois regime forces people to wear the ridiculous facial coverings. My mask of choice is an old, dirty, loosely fitting spray-paint mask that is blatantly and obviously ineffective at accomplishing anything significant. I wear that silly mask to purposefully rebel against what I see as hyped-up, unscientific virus hysteria. My mask is a total joke, but the stores let me in anyway, because all they are looking for is any kind of face covering to comply with the irrational unconstitutional rule that Illinois Governor Pumpkinhead pulled out of his very substantial behind. The mask is another aspect of my rebelliousness. Fashion coordination!


It’s about freedom, not racism

The average historically ignorant, brainwashed-by-public-schools-mass-media-and-pop-culture American sees my rebel hat and, assuming they have any neurons firing in their brain, probably thinks that I am a “racist.” That is what they have been told by the dominant culture about the rebel flag—that it is the same as a Nazi swastika. But, of course, they have been told despicable lies by the deceitful Leftists who control essentially every institution in this country today. The rebel flag has nothing to do with racism, slavery, or any of the other sins that the Left has unjustifiably defaced and defamed it with. (Even misinformed people on the Right have been complicit in these lies.) You can be a person of any race or any ethnic group and proudly display the rebel flag—if you believe in the concept of individual liberty and doing things your own way. That’s what the flag is really all about.

Please allow me to attempt to provide some much-needed education and clarity on this subject—not based on what some dubious history textbook or encyclopedia entry might have to say about the flag, but based on what my own personal, individual experience has told me about the flag. I can go back to my childhood with my observations.


1969 Chicago Cubs

I was born in March 1960 in Chicago. And I have lived in the lower-middle-class southwest suburbs of Chicago my entire life. I am, thus, a Northerner. I’ve visited the South several times during my life, including Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and Virginia. But I’ve been stuck living in Illinois for various reasons. Nevertheless, during a time when men can self-identify as women without question, and whites can self-identify as blacks or American Indians without question, why can’t I self-identify as a Southerner? After all, I have lived since the early 1990s in Will County, Illinois, which the elitist snobs of Chicago and the rich northern suburbs typically refer to disdainfully as the dreaded “downstate” area of the state. Therefore, I officially proclaim myself as a Southerner! (You can imagine a “rebel yell” here for effect.)

When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, I was a big fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. My favorite player was shortstop Don Kessinger, who happened to be a star for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss Rebels) before his professional baseball career. But the player I want to focus on here is catcher Randy Hundley. He was my mom’s favorite player—probably because they have similar combative personalities. Hundley, who is from Virginia, liked to argue with umpires in rather dramatic ways—jumping up and down and kicking dirt at them. He was one of the Cubs’ most popular players. Cubs’ fans affectionately nicknamed the Virginia-native “The Rebel,” and they used to wave rebel flags whenever he came up to bat. Yes, they did! 

Remember—this was Chicago, in 1968, 1969. And the fans were enthusiastically waving rebel flags! I realize that this will be impossible for younger people to comprehend today, but it was commonly understood at the time that the rebel flag stood for being a rebel against authority, doing things your own way, and having a fighting spirit—as well as regional (Southern) pride. So, the Cubs’ fans waved the flag to show their great respect and admiration for a beloved player. Nobody associated the flag with racism, white supremacy, hate, slavery, or any of the other lies that are now commonly accepted about it. Nobody!

It is extremely disgusting to me that this basic understanding about this common American symbol has been completely erased from our culture and consciousness by decades of elitist Leftist brainwashing and misinformation, and by the corresponding spread of mass societal ignorance throughout the nation.


1970s country music

When I was a teenager in the mid-70s, I developed a love of country music thanks to a friend of my Aunt Gen named Betty. Betty was originally from Centralia, a rural town in far southern Illinois that culturally is about as Southern as you can get. After my aunt quit being a Catholic nun (because of various scandals she witnessed in the Church), she and Betty moved into a house together in Bradley, Illinois (near Kankakee). So, whenever our family visited Aunt Gen, there was Betty. Betty’s fun, laidback, “hillbilly” personality soon made her my favorite “relative.” Betty introduced me to traditional country music, like Ernest Tubb, George Jones, and Little Jimmy Dickens. In time, I expanded my country preferences to the “outlaw” stars of the time, like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Hank Williams, Jr. Those artists were dubbed outlaws because they rebelled against the stodgy, conservative Nashville establishment to do their own style of rock-influenced music, as well as to live rather wild, unconventional lifestyles. My love for, and understanding of, country music served to develop a healthy respect and admiration for Southern (and Western, as in Texas) culture in my mind.

My main musical hero became Texas-native Waylon Jennings—the leading outlaw among all the outlaws. If you want to hear a man rebelling against the establishment, you can’t do any better than Waylon’s 1975 hard-driving, pounding anthem “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.” At the peak of his musical success in 1979, Jennings took a side job as the narrator of the popular action-comedy TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, which ran into 1985. He also wrote and sang the show’s theme song, “Good Ol’ Boys”:

Just’a good ol’ boys
Never meanin' no harm
Beats all you never saw
Been in trouble with the law
Since the day they was born

Straightnin’ the curves, yeah
Flatnin’ the hills
Someday the mountain might get ‘em
But the law never will

Makin’ their way
The only way they know how
That’s just a little bit more
Than the law will allow


The Dukes of Hazzard was just a fun, silly TV show, a simple form of escapism about a couple of fun-loving rebellious good ol’ boys in Georgia, along with their sexy long-legged cousin, Daisy. They were always getting into trouble with the crooked, stupid local law authorities—but, like the song says, they never meant any harm.

The show remained popular in reruns after it ended its run. But now you apparently cannot find it anywhere. It has been banned from television and from the Internet—because of the car featured on the show. A customized 1969 Dodge Charger, painted orange, with black “01” numbers on the side, and a rebel flag painted on the roof. The car’s nickname was “General Lee.” The BLM/woke/socialist/communist fascists object to this car as “racist” because of the rebel flag on top. Therefore, nobody shall be allowed to watch the show ever again! In addition to the show being exiled to TV-land limbo because of the car, car museums that display copies of the automobile have come under pressure to remove them. 

That car was enough to get the show erased from modern American culture—because the twisted dominant cultural influencers declared the flag to be racist. This BS is especially offensive to me, because I still admire Waylon Jennings as not only my musical hero, but as my life hero. He died in 2002, but I will always honor him as a great man. His example taught me that you stand and fight for what you believe in—no matter what anyone else thinks. In my writing career, I became a recognized authority on Waylon’s life and music. I have written about him for the Willie Nelson and Friends Museum in Nashville, and I became acquainted with his son Terry. It is thoroughly disgusting that Waylon’s reputation has been tarnished by the Leftist propaganda that has been manufactured about the TV show. Waylon was the most tolerant, open-minded, non-racist, decent, good-hearted man that anyone could ever meet. His life was all about freedom and live-and-let-live. By contrast, the idiots who condemn the TV show because of a flag on a car—they are all about repression, intolerance, and hatred. Their ignorance, their stupidity, their arrogance—and their new power and influence—make me totally sick!

Two other Southern stars I have always admired—for their music as well as their political and social views—are Hank Williams, Jr, and the recently passed Charlie Daniels. They each had great songs that record companies today would probably be too cowardly to produce—because of the songs’ emphasis on traditional Southern pride and the companies’ kowtowing to the BLM Marxists. Two songs that were primarily about praising other Southern musical acts, but also featured commentary on Southern pride in general, were Charlie’s “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” (1974)—which Daniels liked to introduce in concerts by shouting, “Save your Confederate money. Be proud you’re a rebel!”—and Hank Jr’s “The South’s Gonna Rattle Again” (1982). Both of these songs carried the semi-serious threat of revival of the Southern cause (as in the lyrics of the chorus sections):

“The South’s Gonna Do It Again”
So gather ‘round, gather ‘round children
Get down, well just get down children
Get loud, well you can be loud and be proud
Well you can be proud here now
Be proud you’re a rebel
‘Cause the South’s gonna do it again, and again


“The South’s Gonna Rattle Again”
Yeah, the South’s gonna rattle again
The South’s gonna rattle again
We got some big old Silver Eagles, and we’re flyin’ through Dixieland
And you can bet I’ll brag on that rebel flag
You can damn well count me in
The ground’s gonna shake like a big rattlesnake 
And the Southern man’s fightin’ again 
And the South's gonna rattle again
Yeah, we’re gonna shake and rattle again


Unbiased, honest history

What does actual history tell us about the rebel flag—and about what it originally stood for? (I acknowledge that certain hateful groups may have used the flag for their own warped purposes, but that should not taint the original, real meaning of the flag.) Most history texts, of course, are written from a Leftist perspective and cannot be trusted. Furthermore, as has often been noted, history is written by the winners, so alternative perspectives are buried in the sands of time. Nevertheless, I am aware of at least two books from the 1990s that presented a refreshing and enlightening Southern perspective on the events of the Civil War. I summarize these books in the following paragraphs. 


The South Was Right! James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy. Pelican Publishing Company, 1994

In this carefully detailed, meticulously referenced examination of history, boldly titled The South Was Right!, the authors (twin brothers) argue that the Southern rebellion was fully justified because of Northern exploitation of the South’s agricultural economy for the North’s own selfish, greedy purposes, as well as because of the Northern government’s increasing centralization of power (yes, even back then), which went against the South’s adherence to the original American constitutional principal of sovereign states. The authors make it clear that the Southern rebellion had little connection to the issue of slavery, an institution in which the vast majority of Southerners did not even participate. An estimated eighty percent of the Southern soldiers and officers (including General Robert E. Lee himself) were NOT slave owners.

Furthermore, even at the beginning of the war, most people in the South realized that slavery was a dying institution that was increasingly economically unviable, and efforts were already beginning to transition to a post-slavery economy. Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote in February 1861 that, regardless of the outcome of the impending conflict, slave owners would surely eventually lose their “property.” In his inaugural address of February 1861, Davis did not even mention slavery, but he did note that Northern aggression and oppression against the South made secession “a necessity, and not a choice.”

Therefore, it is safe to conclude that millions of Southerners would have never gone to war over the issue of slavery. That excuse for the war was manufactured by the North. The North actually launched war against the seceding Southern states primarily for its own selfish economic reasons. It did not want to lose the substantial revenue from the South’s agricultural products—revenue that Northern powers had been confiscating from Southern producers for years. The North took much of the South’s economic revenue and gave little back in terms of benefits. President James Buchanan (Lincoln’s predecessor) even pointed this out in a message to Congress: “The South had not had her share of money from the Treasury, and unjust discrimination had been made against her…” Lincoln himself reportedly proclaimed at the beginning of the conflict, “Let the South go? Let the South go? Where then shall we get our revenues?” 

This rarely heard interpretation of history makes it clear that the Confederate battle flag—the rebel flag—has nothing to do with racism or slavery, because the Southern rebellion itself was not about racism or slavery. Like most wars, the Civil War was started (by the North against the seceding South) because of economic reasons—pure and simple. And, also as in most wars (see Vietnam, Iraq, etc), phony high-minded moral excuses were tacked on for public consumption.


The Guns of the South. Harry Turtledove. Ballantine Books, 1992

Unlike The South Was Right!, The Guns of the South is not an academic history text. Rather, it is an imaginative novel, written in the form of a fascinating alternative history, partly science fiction, in which the South wins the Civil War thanks to twentieth-century weaponry provided by time travelers. Nevertheless, the story is grounded in historical facts, which make its premise plausible and believable, and the fictional story is quite insightful and revealing in terms of history.

In the novel’s story, modern-day racist white South Africans travel back to the time of the American Civil War to give the Southern forces AK-47 rifles. Their goal is to make the South win, because they think the South will then later become an ally of racists around the world. Their belief is very understandable, given the modern misinformation about the South’s motives in the Civil War. However, in a brilliant twist of the plot, Turtledove has Robert E. Lee’s troops taking full advantage of the AK-47 gifts and winning victory over the North—but then events happen that the South African racists had not counted on. Lee becomes the new president of the CSA and—because of both his inherent goodness and his economic practicality—he immediately proceeds to free all the slaves! 

This novel—based on an intelligent and perceptive reading of real history—helps the reader understand that racism and slavery were not important aspects of the South’s rebellion—and if the South had won, its leaders would have soon abolished slavery and eventually instituted civil-rights laws to advance the rights of black people. And moreover, these actions and reforms would have occurred in a Southern environment much more in line with America’s founding principles of constitutional liberty, compared to the heavy-handed intrusions that were forced on the South by the Northern victors.

So, once again, we come to see the rebel flag as a symbol of freedom, not racism. 


Three conclusions

We can discuss and debate endlessly what was, what might have been, and what should have been. But we know for a fact what is true today in terms of the North versus the South. And based on that reality—especially the continued, vast, irreconcilable cultural divisions between the North (grounded in big government and societal control) and the South (grounded in small government and individual liberty)—I have reached the following three main conclusions:

• Lincoln was wrong to wage the war. He should have let the Southern states secede and form the independent CSA. The resulting war caused the unnecessary deaths of more than 600,000 Americans. 

• Lincoln was the first president to unconstitutionally overextend his presidential authority and the authority of the U.S. federal government. His successful actions served as encouragement for the further extension of federal powers—which has gotten increasingly out of control—from Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama to the current power-hungry tyrants at all levels of government in both major political parties, who have twisted America beyond recognition in 2020. 

• More so than any other American symbol, the Confederate rebel flag continues to stand for American freedom, individual liberty, and the rights of common, regular people—and against government oppression, tyranny, and elitism.


Call for new secession(s)

We as Americans face a genuinely existential crisis today. As highlighted by the virus hysteria, the economic destruction, the racial division, and the overall cultural decadence and decline we have to live with every day in 2020, it is painfully obvious that the Left controls essentially everything in all parts of the country today, and the Left is being astonishingly successful at killing off what remains of the real America in both the North and South. Meanwhile, the Right watches in its perpetual profound cluelessness and purposeful blindness. Those of us on the Right who are still conscious and aware—and have not been turned into sheep—want to do something about this national disaster. But what can we do?

Because the Left has already destroyed almost all of our country so comprehensively as to make that destruction permanent, I believe that we have to make a new country. The situation is more urgent and serious in 2020 than it was in 1861. At least in 1861, American society was still basically sane. It has gone totally insane today. The inmates are running the insane asylum and they are firmly in control. Thus, we have no choice but to escape the insane asylum!

I think that, unfortunately, voting and conventional political actions are useless at this point. Look at what happens when we elect someone who might actually make a difference (Trump). Our enemies attack and attack and attack until that individual and that hope are destroyed. So, I cannot recommend conventional politics. Not anymore. It’s too late for that.

Instead, I argue that a new secession effort is needed—a new rebellion against the established order. Or new secession efforts—plural. A new form of CSA needs to be established—somehow—I don’t know how, and I don’t know where exactly. In Illinois, there is a serious effort by conservatives to have the downstate region break away from Cook County and Chicago. I know there are other such secession efforts in various other states—some initiated by the Right, some by the Left. These efforts have been picking up momentum lately. They could be the first steps—breakaways to form new states. The next steps might then involve uniting those various state efforts on the Right to form a single new conservative/libertarian entity—a new nation rededicated to the original founding American principles of freedom and liberty.

I propose that secession is the only logical, rational, honest solution to the Right’s current dilemma—the firm control of essentially all institutions in this country by the Left. I think that there may still be enough of us (conservatives/libertarians/constitutionalists) scattered throughout the country to make this idea work, provided that we find a way to join our interests and our efforts together. Hopefully, we can find a way to accomplish this through creative nonviolent actions. That would certainly be better than a new, real, bloody civil war. But only time will tell. (Keep in mind that the South did not want the first civil war. The North’s violent reaction to secession forced war on the South. Wisdom could avoid such an outcome this time.)

I suspect that—given the nightmare dystopian events and corresponding controversies and conflicts of 2020—a lot of Americans are rapidly coming to the conclusion that division will be better than unity—for all sides concerned. Of course, if this division would have been allowed to proceed in the 1860s, we would not be in our present unfortunate dilemma today.

Inspired by the rebels of more than 150 years ago—and by the continued rebel spirit that lives today—Americans need to reclaim their liberty from those who have stolen it. Where are you, my fellow rebels?



About the author:
A.J. Smuskiewicz is a freelance writer specializing in science, medicine, history, and cultural issues. He can be contacted at: [email protected]. His website is at: https://www.ajsmuskiewicz.com.





 
AJS CSA by A.J. Smuskiewicz is licensed under