Editor, Gazette-Journal:

“A divisive symbol.” What does that mean? From a letter to the editor (May 9 Readers Write), it means flying the Confederate flag.

I see it differently. I see it as exactly what the Founding Fathers were trying to protect when they wrote the First Amendment to the Constitution. The specific incident referred to in that letter was the display of a large Confederate flag at May Faire. The letter writer stated: “I decided to speak to the organization associated with the flag. As a white southerner myself, I felt it my duty.”

The right to express ideas is fundamental to human freedom. How on Earth can someone have a “duty” to confront someone else freely expressing ideas? This is a similar mindset to book burners, burning books because they disagree with the content. The vast majority of people, whether they agreed or disagreed with the symbolism of the flag, didn’t feel a “duty” to confront the flag people.
...