I am proud of my heritage. I am second generation native born American meaning my grandparents were all immigrants. Genetically speaking, I am half German and three eighths English and one eighth Irish. All of which is probably not very interesting to anyone outside my family. Fairly typical of many people in southeast Pennsylvania.

            I have been known to wave a German Flag around, and also a Union Jack. I was stationed in Germany for two years and have a fair amount of souvenirs to show for the stay. One thing that I did not collect was artifacts from World War One or Two. If I would have gotten a flag from the Nazi era, I would not be displaying it. (For the record, I don’t have any such flag or any interest in owning one.) I don’t feel that flag represents my German heritage. The flag of Germany (now united again) would be my flag of choice to represent Germany. Somehow it was selected and is the one raised for international and domestic representation of Germany.

            This may have been a long introduction to a subject, but I feel that the best representation of one’s beliefs needs to have a solid foundation. Excuse the detail, if it was too much. There recently was a clash of cultures at the high school my youngest daughter attends. The battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia was displayed on a few pickup trucks of students. This was perceived by minority students as a symbol of racism. That charge was, of course, denied by the truck owners. They claimed it to be merely a matter of southern pride, since their families had moved here from the south a few generations back. They stayed connected to the relatives in that original state, but had been born Pennsylvanians.

            The point being that as a matter of heritage, why would they not display the flag of the home state, or perhaps one of the three official flags of the Confederacy. There is confusion over what is a “Confederate Flag.” Officially there were three flags of the Confederate government.

1^st was the “Stars and Bars” used from March 4, 1861 until May 1, 1863.

2^nd was the “Stainless Banner” used from May1, 1863 until March 4, 1865

The 3^rd was simply called the “Third National Flag” or "The Final Edition" and was used from March 4, 1865 until the end of the war. (Or until present, depending if the person has faced the fact that the south did indeed lose the war.)

The battle flag, adopted by some southerners, could be construed as racist. The above flags, I think, would be considered out of date since 1865, but representative of southern pride at one time.

 For the record; after talking with my daughter, all the people with the battle flag of the Northern Virginia Army were racists, but probably ignorant of the history they purportedly honor. Also for the record; display of that flag is no longer permitted on school grounds.

Thanks to The Georgia Heritage Coalition for the flag information.

All views and opinions expressed in an article or column are the author’s own.

Copyright Robert E. Britt 2006