Some symbols elicit strong opinions. None, it seems, more so than the Confederate battle flag.

During Mathews County’s May Faire celebration 47 days ago, a group took the opportunity to fly a large Confederate flag high atop a telescoping pole on a van parked on Main Street.

In the following week’s paper, and almost every issue thereafter, the editorial pages have been filled with passionate letters, both for and against display of the flag. Some writers argued that the flag’s display serves only to honor the brave local men who fought and died during the Civil War as a tribute to Southern heritage, while others have spoken about the South’s legacy of slavery and the flag’s later association with the KKK and other racist hate groups.

People have had their say on this issue, and now is the time to move on.

As one of the unpublished letter writers in a letter submitted for this week’s paper acknowledged, “reiteration ad nauseum is not necessa...