Many people dismiss the issue of flying the Confederate flag as a simple no-brainer.

In Iowa, when people have the Stars and Bars stuck in their windows right below their gun racks, chances are they aren’t as proud of their Southern heritage as they are their bigotry.

This is not an unfair stereotype; there really is no good reason for an Iowan to bear that symbol.

Down South, however, you will hear a different story. It is a given that some Southerners are still not happy about the outcome of the Civil War.

Some Southerners really don’t like Yankees, and they are very proud of their heritage.

To them, the Confederate flag is a symbol of that heritage, and they are less concerned about the connotations of racism and slavery than Northerners.

Imagine the United States torn asunder. Not yet 100 years old and still unrecognized as a nation by some countries, the Union was willing to do whatever it took to keep the country together.

The secessionist states, seeing the Union as oppressive, were just as eager to distance themselves and take control of their own future. To them, the war was fought for freedom, not slavery.

But the Union would not have been torn apart if it had not been over the issue of slavery to begin with.

The state of South Carolina is making a huge leap by defending its decision to keep the Confederate flag flying over its capitol.

To suggest that Southern pride in that symbol comes with no racist baggage is insulting not only to the black residents of South Carolina, but to the intelligence of us all.

No amount of rationalization or double talk is going to convince the black residents of the South not to be filled with dread at the sight of any symbol of the Confederacy.

Honoring the Southern men who fought and died for their homes is not without reason, but there are better ways to reconcile the two sides of this issue than to tell black people to “get over it.”

Even if the Stars and Bars had started out pure, they have been co-opted by hate groups across the country.

This is not an issue of hypersensitivity on the part of the protesters, but rather one of common decency and respect.