Commentary: The populace should decide fate of Confederate flag

As a former development director at the Laguna Art Museum, I appreciate what Malcolm Warner, its director, recently said about artist G. Ray Kerciu’s Confederate flag paintings.

“In museums, we always strive to be relevant. When debate swirls around public imagery, it means there needs to be an appropriate response to show works of art that chime in on the subject.”

At a time when nerves are frayed over apparent racially motivated events in Charleston and elsewhere, the Confederate flag has become a lightning rod.

President Obama said the flag belongs in a museum. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a GOP presidential candidate and true son of the Palmetto State, initially said, “It [the flag] works here.” Graham has since changed his mind.

Maybe that’s because another Southern senator, Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee, said the flag should be removed. Corker’s comments mirrored what former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, one of Graham’s primary opponents, and Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential standard bearer, said two weeks ago.

And then there is South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Initially, Haley said she could not lower the flag without approval from the state legislature. The GOP governor was in tears when describing her reaction to the shootings in the Emanuel AME Church, where nine people were slain, but she hesitated to call for the flag’s removal.

That is until her recent news conference. The governor has now made it clear she will ask the legislature to take action. Others have taken action on their own. Retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Sears have pulled all Confederate flag products from their shelves.

My take is rather simple: If a majority of South Carolina voters believe the Confederate flag is a healing, uniting symbol in the state, then it should be allowed to fly. The flip side is equally true. If a majority of voters believe it is a negative, dividing symbol, then it should be permanently lowered.

Even though I live in Laguna, I do have a personal connection to the Confederate flag. My grandfather bought his way out of the Civil War in 1861 at age 19. His son, my dad, never spoke about his father’s decision. Knowing how my grandfather conducted himself years later as a lawyer in San Francisco and as a member of the California Assembly, I’m guessing he would be surprised the flag is still flying today.

The Civil War ended 150 years ago. How many more years need to pass before people acknowledge the effect the Confederate flag has had on American culture? As far as I am concerned, it is time to put the issue up for a statewide vote.

DENNY FREIDENRICH first moved to Laguna Beach in 1970. He served as a congressional staff assistant in 1972.