COLUMN: A local decision turns into a national shame

From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall 00 From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall 00High school teachers can be lunatics. My freshman biology teacher -- who is single-handedly responsible for thwarting countless 14-year-olds' dreams of pursuing careers in medicine or science -- enjoyed smelling the gas fumes from our lab's flame burners and insisted that we do the same.From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall 00High school teachers can be lunatics. My freshman biology teacher -- who is single-handedly responsible for thwarting countless 14-year-olds' dreams of pursuing careers in medicine or science -- enjoyed smelling the gas fumes from our lab's flame burners and insisted that we do the same. My English teacher demanded that we read aloud with a French accent (It is zee east and Juliet is zee sun?). Not surprisingly, we chalked up her strong bias toward the South as another example of an authority figure gone mad. But we were wrong. Mrs. Petruski is not crazy. She was simply spouting an extreme version of what she was brought up to believe. One of my teacher's dearest arguments was that the rebel flag, the one that now flies over South Carolina's statehouse, is a symbol of bravery and lost heritage. It is an issue that is now under intense scrutiny, as almost 50,000 people rallied against the flying flag this Monday and presidential candidates continue to hem and haw on both sides of the issue. The debate over the state's choice of symbol, however, is simply a visual version of a geographical rift in how American history is remembered. A trip down south reveals a different history than the one cherished in the North. Antebellum mansions whisper of a vanished culture that was quite enjoyable -- if you were the right color and class. Amazingly, according to tour guides and brochures, all the owners of these mansions were quite nice to their slaves. These slaves liked their owners. Must be at all those other cotton plantations that slaves were treated as, well, slaves. Millions of dollars are spent on memorials and museums dedicated to President Jefferson Davis. Where I come from, Mr. Jefferson Davis was guilty of treason. Certainly he is worthy of mention and remembrance, but hardly in the form of shrine-like buildings and the title of Commander in Chief. The significance of the Confederate flag's position atop the South Carolina statehouse is also ambiguous and misunderstood. The flag has not been flying there since 1861. The Confederate flag was first raised above the capital in 1962, almost a century after the war was lost. 1962 was an important year in the civil rights movement; it seems ironic that the state decided to pay tribute to an undeniably racist past at that moment in history. Mrs. Petruski did not give us a chance to debate the flag issue with her, and even as a stubborn 15-year-old I was afraid to take her on. Unfortunately, our Republican presidential candidates are just as scared of their voters. It is wonderful that both Bush and McCain see both sides of the issue. But I would appreciate a clearer picture of their opinions. With national leaders afraid to challenge the status quo, any change rests in the current game of one-upmanship between the NAACP and Rick Quinn, the South Carolina state majority leader. The NAACP's announcement of an economic boycott of South Carolina until the flag is lowered was followed by Quinn's declaration that the flag would not be lowered until the NAACP ended the boycott. Wonderful. Meanwhile, the Civil War's legacy, symbols of treason and the strength of states' rights, are largely ignored as issues in this non-dialogue. I personally have no problem with South Carolina flying the Confederate battle flag above her most important government building. It is, after all, her symbol. I just think that as long as the insulting and racist symbol flies, the state's representatives should be barred from voting in the U.S. Congress. Secede that. Mrs. Petruski's lesson plan was a bit insane. But it was not entirely symptomatic of the high school teacher bug. She was raised on a different history than many of us Northeasterners. The debate about the Confederate flag has been called a "local issue." Certainly it is mainly local sensibilities that understand the heritage that the flag protects. The fact so many in the country cannot figure out what South Carolina is trying to protect, however, is a very national issue. And state leaders must ultimately realize that their insistence on flying the Confederate flag over their statehouse insults the entire country to which they belong.