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Honolulu Lite
THE trouble with symbols is that they symbolize things. Those things are ideas and, as we've come to learn through the rise and fall of "new" Coke and "Who Wants to Marry A Multi-Millionaire," not all ideas are good. Flags flap in winds
of controversyFlags are particularly problematic because no two people will agree on exactly what a certain flag symbolizes.
School kids are taught America's history and its symbols. I remember standing up every morning to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to a small American flag hanging above the blackboard.
To be honest, we were forced to do it. And we didn't really understand it. (I wonder how many kids pledged allegiance to an "invisible" nation instead of an "indivisible" one.) Asking a 6-year-old child to pledge loyalty to a country is a bit much. Just ask Elian Gonzalez. (On the other hand, don't.)
We also used to have to write essays like "What Does the American Flag Mean to You?" This really brought out the patriotic fervor in our little hearts as we summoned up every cliche regarding family, freedom, ice cream and invisible countries that had lodged in our brains.
The Stars and Stripes meant many things to many people and still does. That's why the U.S. flag is thoroughly stomped on and burned by people wanting to make a point. That's why people gather by the thousands to sing to it, though usually just before a sporting event.
And that's why people are upset over the Confederate flag that flies over the South Carolina state house. Is it a symbol of hate and racism or a symbol of Southern heritage? That's easy. It's both.
MY great-great-grandfather was the secretary-treasurer of the Confederacy. He came to the United States as an orphan after Napoleon overran Germany and killed his father. C.G. Memminger, a lawyer, argued against the secession of South Carolina and never owned a slave. But his state did secede and he had to make a choice. He pledged his loyalty to his state and served in Jefferson Davis' Cabinet. Before the end of the war, he became disillusioned and resigned.
After the war, he established Charleston's public school system and supported the education of black children. You won't find that in many history books. The victorious write history. So many people still think of Civil War Southerners as villains and racists.
For me, the Confederate flag symbolizes not hate but a sad, painful time in American history when loyalty to particular states blinded some otherwise good men.
Symbols don't change. But their meanings can. Maybe those who find the Confederate flag offensive should claim it as their own. Fly it from every porch and doorway. Turn it into their own symbol of victory over ignorance.
It's been done before. Many Hawaiians pledge allegiance to the Hawaii state flag, whose design incorporates the British Union Jack, once a symbol of Western imperialism. Now, Hawaiians and Hawaii residents stand and sing "Hawaii Pono'i" to the same symbol.
As a show of Hawaiian pride, Gov. John Waihee once lowered the U.S. flag and flew the state flag alone over the Capitol for a day. The Hawaii flag stands not for Western conquest but for the survival, perseverance and dignity of an island people, something the Brits never imagined or intended.
Charles Memminger, winner of
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
awards in 1994 and 1992, writes "Honolulu Lite"
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Write to him at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, 96802
or send E-mail to charley@nomayo.com or
71224.113@compuserve.com.
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