In the debate over historical figures, both good and bad, Mississippi decided to forgo the mobs and pitchforks and do what a democratic society was created to do: deliberate, vote, and act.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill the other week to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its state flag. The Confederate symbol had flown over the state for more than a century, but state legislators decided that it was finally time for Mississippi to abandon what many see as a divisive, painful reminder of America’s original sin.
“This is not a political moment to me but a solemn occasion to lead our Mississippi family to come together and move on,” Reeves said after signing the state legislature’s bill. “A flag is a symbol of our past, our present, and our future. For those reasons, we need a new symbol.”
Some have argued that Mississippi’s actions will contribute to iconoclasm’s “slippery slope.” Give in on the Confederacy, they say, and soon George Washington or Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln will fall. This is a fair point, and in some cases even true. But the difference is that Mississippi made this decision peacefully, through the democratic process. The iconoclasts have abandoned democracy altogether, using force to tear down statues they dislike and exert their will over the rest of the citizenry’s.
Mississippi went about this the right way. And as Republican state House Speaker Philip Gunn pointed out, the decision to remove the Confederate emblem wasn’t an attempt to erase or disregard the state’s heritage, but an effort to embrace a future in which all citizens see equality and justice for all as more than just an ideal.
