Parades

As I wound toward the end of a long (and, boy, do I mean long) biography on Ulysses S. Grant, I came across an amusing anecdote from the years after his presidency. The former president and his wife took a long journey across the globe. Literally. The left from an East Coast port and returned to the West Coast almost two years later. He was feted around the globe, and news accounts of his popular receptions through Europe and Asia redeemed his popularity in the U.S. 

So when he returned he was greeted and celebrated in cities across our nation as he made his way eastward toward home on the East Coast. But, according to the book, the finest parade and celebration for him was held in Philadelphia. 

Then I recalled that, yes, Philly is a great city for parades. Which got me to thinking of the big parade here in 2018. Which led me to YouTube to watch the video of Jason Kelce's speech. And of highlights from that Superbowl.

And I, a grown man, wept. 

I enjoyed that brilliant memory today. 

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The biography? It was good. I'm simply not much of a biography guy. I learned from it though, and find myself better understand the murkiness of our post-Civil War era. In some ways I feel like a political and social standoff followed the Civil War just as the Cold War followed World War II. It was called Reconstruction. We won the Cold War. 

I don't think we won the cold war that emerged in the years before, during, and after the Grant presidency. 

Knowing One's Place and Other Symbols

I am still somewhat astonished at the speed with which support for the display of the Confederate battle flag on public property has collapsed. Mississippi's vote to remove the symbol from their flag came surprisingly quickly. I welcome this development. 

The Economist surprised me, though, by giving the story very little space in its most recent issue. Just a photo and a caption. 

Seriously, that's all they wrote. 

The Confederate battle flag represents a lot of ugly messages, perhaps the most compelling one that I follow is the damning, menacing one suggesting that people of color keep their place. An articulate essay on this can be found here: Essay in New York Times. 

Before I get too happy that this accursed symbol is coming down, I might need to consider what symbol (or symbols) is coming to replace it. I'm troubled this spring and summer by images of protesters carrying firearms quite visibly. For instance, protesters arguing that Michigan's governor open up the state came to their protests brandishing AR-15s. This past weekend, militia groups came to Gettysburg to counter protesters they thought were set to destroy monuments and flags. Of course many came armed with assault rifles. 

Is the assault rifle the new Confederate battle flag? Is this the new symbol brandished by the majority to menace outside groups into minding their place? A news story from April caught my eye in which a political leader urged protesters against government-mandated lockdowns in his state to leave Confederate battle flags at home in order to present a more respectable image. I don't know, though, if protesters there showed up in camouflage and with AR-15s. 

The lesson for me here is that white supremacy doesn't vanish. It's a disease, a plague, on our society. And it will find ways to manifest itself even as it (hopefully) becomes smaller and less mighty. So I should be humble and watchful as I celebrate the fall of Confederate banners from many segments of American life. Out of sight doesn't mean out of mind.