FLAG FREEDOM?

Submitted by Admin on

Many people living in The United States of America may have assumed the Confederate flag had been finally retired for good after South Carolina and Alabama officially removed it and presidential candidates from both parties declared it too divisive for display.

However, some people are still flying it, and not just in the South, despite announcements by leading flag-makers and retailers that they no longer sell products showing the secessionist battle flag.

Those who display it may be motivated by pride in their ancestry, or enthusiasm for Southern history. Others see it as a symbol of their right to challenge to authority. And some have hoisted Confederate flags in recent weeks precisely because it's generating controversy again.

Here is an old Confederate flag hanging from his weather-beaten front porch on a heavily traveled street in New York State, along the Delaware River and directly in front of Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct, also known as the Roebling Bridge. This is the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the United States. It runs 535 feet over the Delaware River, from Minisink Ford, New York, to Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania.

This bridge opened in 1849 as an aqueduct connecting two parts of the Delaware & Hudson Canal and has since been converted to carry automotive traffic and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, the Confederate flag still raises continuing controversy. A flag on the back of a pickup truck parked in a convenience store parking lot was set on fire. Another Confederate flag displayed at a gun shop was recently removed after receiving threats.