First off, lets talk about the Confederate Flag. I would advocate everyone to forget what they 'learned' in grade school about the Civil War and do some modern research... I know I certainly had to in order to get an educated opinion on the matter. I found a great article from PBS that talks about some of the more unknown history of the flag. If you don't want to read it, I'll give a summary of the most important points (in my opinion) here.
1) The 'Stars and Bars' was never the official flag of the Confederacy
2) Slavery was, in fact, an extremely important factor in the secession
In grade school, I was taught that the Civil War was not about slavery, but rather about states' rights. This is about 40% correct. If you look at the secession documents written and presented by South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi (some of the biggest players in the CSA), each of them mention slavery as one of, if not the top, reason for secession. Yes, you could argue they left for their rights to keep slavery legal, but that argument gets to the same point: the states seceded so that they could continue to oppress a minority based on race. Fighting for you right to oppress someone else does not justify the fight itself.
3) Sure, only a minority of Southerners had slavers... but it doesn't matter
The biggest argument I heard in grade school, and that I see now, is that the war wasn't for slavery only the richest of the rich in the South had slaves, not the troops. This argument is such a non-sequitur. It doesn't matter who had what number of slaves, or lack thereof. Wars have always been fought for political reasons, funded by the richest of the rich. As can be seen from secession letters, the main political driving force was slavery, and that, sadly, is what causes the Civil War.
4) The flag became a major symbol of the anti-desegregation movement in the 1940s
Perhaps the largest reason the flag today is seen as a symbol of racial hate is due to the Dixiecrat party in the 1940s who used it as a rallying point of the anti-desegregation movement. This shouldn't take much explanation, but just by the very nature of the movement it became of symbol of racism.
Ok, now those points are out. Now for what I think it means. Basically, it would be totally ignorant to act as if the flag was just a symbol of 'southern pride' or a memorial to Confederate soldiers. Ignoring a major part of the flag's creation, history, and purpose just makes people seems uneducated. You cannot possibly stand there and act like the flag is a good symbol. Even if you follow the argument that it represents the fight for states' rights, the main fight it fought was for slavery, and institution that is the purist antithesis of liberty. That being said, I am still a Libertarian who respects private rights. If you want to fly that flag above your home, on your car, or somewhere else that you own, be my guest. Just don't act surprised when people get offended, look at you sideways, or react with something other than pride. You have the right to your opinion, but not the right to make everyone else conform to it.
On the opposite side, this flag as no business whatsoever flying over any government building. It is a symbol of rebellion. It is a symbol of oppression. It has no place in civilized society. I would never advocate a governmental entity forcing a private citizen to take down the flag, but the government itself should never fly it. You don't see a shwastika over Berlin, or the hammer and sickle over Moscow. It is a built-in fight when a government promotes a flag of a former version of itself, or of an enemy.
Now, on to the gay marriage part!
This one should be shorter. Let's talk about Obergefell v. Hodges. Or, as most people know it as, the gay marriage case. Simply put, this case was a direct overruling of Baker v. Nelson, and now does not allow for a state to deny a marriage license to a couple because they are gay. It does not require a church or other religious entity to perform a marriage. Let me repeat that. It does not require a church or other religious entity to perform a marriage. Get it? Good. This case, while being hailed as a massive victory for the LGBT community, ultimately just sets up for a longer road of fights. Don't get me wrong, I very much agree with the court's decision. The state should have no say in who is or isn't allowed to get married. Only now, the floodgates are open to all kinds of potential issues. I know it's slippery slope logic, but even Justice Roberts said in the dissent that we are now open to court arguments about marriages with multiple partners. The same logic that applies to the Obergefell v. Hodges case can be applied to that just as well. I simply fear that now someone will sue a church that refuses to let them and their same-sex couple get married. I am not religious, but I do care about rights. If this case came to court and they ruled in favor of the couple, we could have real problems on our hands. But for now, this is not the issue. I see so many people on social media acting like its the end of days, and that the government is squishing their religious freedom. No. They are not. Get over yourself. As I said above regarding the flag, you have the right to your opinion, but not the right to make everyone else conform to it.
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