Look Before You Leap

Before I begin this blog, subjects I will cover will be 1) Removal of the Confederate Flag, 2) Removal of Confederate Statues and other Monuments, 3) CHAZ and 4) St. Louis Couple with Guns (I am supporting the couple).  If you don’t want to hear the opinions, you can stop reading, it’s not trying to be political, just trying to find answers.  This was my disclaimer. 

There is way too much “Us versus Them” mentality.  I want people to know, it is ok to think differently and passionately on these issues, but just get along with one another, and share what you think and also, respect other people’s voice, and there is no room to attack a person just because it is their opinion.   Always look before you leap!  The purpose of this blog is to find a reason to understand all this stuff that is going on in the United States.

1) Removal of the Confederate Flag
Happy upcoming Fourth of July everyone!  I hope that all can celebrate responsibly and safely!  Remember the 4th of July as a symbol of revolution!  (Which I think we need to define is, in my opinion different from rebellion) It’s interesting to think about the fourth of July in all that is going on in the United States so far.  So far… we have had COVID-19, which is still on-going and catching steam once again as cases rise at an alarming rate!  Then there was the Police Brutality issue and protesting across the United States, and now we have people asking to take down confederate statues and the confederate flag and symbol and now the possibility of taking down Mount Rushmore?  Umm… ok… so… let me think about this…

Here is the thing, it doesn’t make sense to me, why hold on to such a flag.  Especially if you live in the northern half of the United States.  We fought the Confederates and we beat them in a war.  Who else keeps symbols of people you have defeated in a war?  Like, should we hold a Taliban flag, or an ISIS Flag?  I don’t get it.  And it’s doesn’t make sense that it is a symbol of heritage…. Because I thought the confederate flag’s heritage was born out of rebellion and was first produced for the civil war because they supported slavery.  Southern heritage/pride was born before that flag ever existed, like you are still southern even without the flag.  Raise your state flag, right?  Like to celebrate my Korean heritage I have a South Korean flag… it’s not like I’m carrying the North Korean flag, even if they are Korean like me.  That’s what I would do, because for the south, people wanted to protect state rights, so raise your state flag…. I dunno… there are other alternatives I can see, that doesn’t make people feel bad….

2) Removal of Confederate Statues and other Monuments
Also, I think the revolution versus is different from civil war rebellion… The south rebelled… they weren’t looking for a revolution… Rebellion is about being hostile and an opposition of the current state, and a revolution seeks a change.  The South were against the United States of America, the America in which our founding father’s created… a free and equal nation for all men and women.  A Nation that our founding fathers, said, that all have the right to prosperity and happiness, that was there thought… and yeah… I know, some of those guys owned slaves…. But times begin to change, when people start to realize that being a slave is contrary to the ideology of Constitution.  The ideology of the building blocks of the United States of America are not reflected on slavery and domination. 

Anyways… moving on… taking down statues… ehhh… I get it why people want to rip down those statues of confederate people, again, I never understood why they were built and why we need to remember the losers of our history.  We should remember heroes, and I believe heroes are people who were victorious, or were leaders who accomplished a task, Umm.. Confederates lost man…  Don’t know why they were put up, but it doesn’t matter to me whether they are there or not either.  I just don’t understand why we have statues of them, because they were our enemies right?  I mean we fought a war against them.  Like, should we put statues of Mao or Che Guevara because of history?  Heck no man! Or put statues of terrorist groups like AntiFa?  I hope not…

But there is an undefined line here about “statues.”  And the question we must ask is… were these statues built for museum and education purposes, or were they built because we admire that person.  First of all, I don’t understand why we would have to put up a statue to admire a person… I mean I admire a lot of people, but there is no way I’d want to make a statue to have them be worshipped…

At the same time, they have been up, they were built, what can you do about it now… And how far will this go?  I mean… what is the checklist of which statues are ok, and which ones aren’t.  I was a bit shocked at Mount Rushmore concept.  Or even the thought of other monuments being ripped down.  Are we to get rid of all of our history?  I mean, since the some of our founding fathers have slaves does that mean we have to get rid of the Constitution?  Or if they feel country music is not sensitive enough, we have to get rid of it?  Please don't do that man...  How far is this going to go?  

3) CHAZ
I like the idea of a revolution, if it has a plan…. For example, what happened in Seattle… umm… it didn’t seem like they had a plan…. And I don’t think they were looking for a revolution, which is about making a change.  They were looking for rebellion, which is standing opposed to something else, similar to the Confederates participation in the Civil War.  I’m all for revolution if it gives us the answers.  I am up for a revolution if it allows all people, regardless of ethnicity, race, skin color, sexual orientation, gender, and occupation, to pursue a life of happiness, and that happiness does not infringe on the rights of other people.

4) St. Louis Couple with Guns
I don’t know how to move on to the next subject… so here it is… In St. Louis, a man and his wife are photographed and filmed holding guns at protesters in front of their home.  And people are up in arms… First off, come on people!  Really?  You are upset at a couple holding a gun in front of their home?  Doesn’t he have the right to protect his family?  What about the iconic picture of Malcolm X holding a AK-47 to protect his family against the Nation of Islam?  This should be of no shock man… They were doing everything lawful in my opinion.  I would do the exact same thing if I see a bunch of people holding signs and marching around my house… oh wait… that did happen, they were holding confederate flags and burning a cross, and we did what e had to do under the law to do what was necessary to protect each other.

Conclusion
What is my point in all this rambling… think before you make a judgement.  Think about it before you do it.  Just because something is upsetting to you, is it necessary to take it all down, or some of it down, or can you progress beyond that.  Also, think about what we see portrayed in the news today… think before you judge, and the 4th of July is coming… it is a time of celebration, but also a time to remember that this great country is built on the premise of creating a nation in which ANYONE, can pursue the right to seek happiness that will not infringe or hinder other people’s pursuit of happiness. 
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I’d like to see people come together in the United States.  I don’t think people need to agree with one another, but I am worried that there isn’t enough dialogue between people and opposing sides.  I’m not asking for people to agree with one another, but I am asking people to look before you leap.  Don’t make a snap judgement until you hear not just facts, but opinions.  And there is no need to force your agenda on other people.  I feel that if we can hear other people’s feelings it will help create sympathy and compassion that seems to be lost during this time in the USA.  By having compassion towards one another I feel that we can be better decision makers in the future. 

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