Am I comparing the swastika to the confederate flag?  Nope, but it got your attention didn’t it?  What I am comparing is popular symbolism to the actual or original symbol.  Apparently there has been some kind of uproar about the confederate flag recently.  Stores pulling it off the shelves and even Amazon not selling it.  And as far as the swastika, I’m pretty sure you won’t see that in Wal-Mart either.  Regardless, the whole thing has a lot of people pulling their hair out about the flag.  Maybe it’s just a diversion to make us all look away from something else?  I don’t know.

So, origins of symbols.  The symbol of the swastika, or according to google, the svastika is Sanskrit, probably twelve thousand years old and means “well being” or “good being”.  It’s also an ancient symbol in many other cultures.

You may want to do your own independent research on the subject.  However, because of one jackass (adolf) we now immediately associate it with one of the most evil eras in earth’s history, the holocaust and nazis.  Then if that wasn’t enough, other groups of people who had no idea of it’s origin and were too lazy / stupid to even be curious decided to make it a symbol of hate against anyone different from them too.

Now to the confederate flag, or more precisely according to Wikipedia the battle flag of Northern Virginia.  Again,  research for yourself.  This flag is held to be a symbol of heritage to many southerners, without any meanings of hatred.  However, thanks to the KKK, skinheads and other similar groups it too has been hijacked and turned into something ugly.  They stole it’s true meaning away from people who really may not approve of the way it’s sometimes used.  Lots of Southerners are simply proud to be from the south.  No shame in that!

Then we come to political correctness, private enterprise and crying, annoying people.  So now stores are removing items from their shelves because of pressure from people who seem to be offended by everything.  Political correctness has gone completely out of control.  In many instances it’s causing loss of business, which causes loss of jobs.  It’s creating hostile environments where none existed. And it’s starting to make people sound like the little boy who cried wolf.  My meaning?  There are still many situations that need attention to change, and they should change.  But if every time you turn around someone is screaming “I’m offended, or “racism” eventually people in a position to change things will completely ignore them and the people who are actually in need of help.

Honestly, if someone wants to wear a flag, (or have a symbol), fly it in front of their home, have a tattoo, or someone wants to sell it, they should be able to do it.  Do I like either of these symbols.  Hell no.  I too am snared by their popular and not actual symbolism.  Do I get bent out of shape when I see it?  Hell no.  I’m black, and because of past experiences I have a hard time seeing anything positive about either, but I’m not about to try and force my views on someone else.  Knowing how most people commonly view these symbols I would actually rather have people wear one or the other.  That way I can have an immediate impression of their potential views and beliefs.  Then I let their ACTIONS dictate how I react to, and feel about them.  I know lots of really good people who love their confederate flag, they love the fact that they are from the south, they are NOT racist, and it should be their right to do whatever they please with the flag. We are still in America, right? Having said that the chance of seeing one in my home or car is still pretty slim.

So, to some things that you might want to actually be aware of and think about a bit more.

You ever see guys wearing this little black ring on their index finger?

It represents the twenty two vets that commit suicide every day.  Read that again…….22 people who signed a blank check saying they will protect your country and your rights kill themselves each and every day.  Maybe we should worry about that a bit more?

Vets dying and suffering because of “hickups” in the system which delay their treatment and proper healthcare.  Do a search on that one.

Here’s another one.  Over thirty two MILLION adults in the US can’t read.  In a country described as a superpower more than thirty two million people can not read!  A bit of a breakdown in the educational system I think.  It’s not surprising to me.  I had trouble reading in school early on myself.  My mom made me sit down in the evening with her and open books.  “Sound it out”  she would say.  And did, seems like thousands of times.  I never turned into a stellar student, but at least I was able to read.  And to this day I still love books.

So there are plenty of things to keep our minds occupied if we just open our eyes.

Moral of the story?  Symbols are just that.  Symbols.  Don’t get so wrapped around the axle about some picture on a piece of paper, cloth, rock or whatever.  It’s peoples ACTIONS that give the symbol life and meaning.

So there is my little tantrum for the day.

Please pass this request along.  Instead of reading some negative BS on the internet or listening to it on the news, take that same amount of time and try to do one positive thing today.  Doesn’t matter if it’s for your community, some stranger, maybe even someone you punched in the nose in the past and kinda feel bad about it.

Anyone that knows me knows I’m that not always the nicest or kindest person on earth.  Sometimes far from it.  However, I constantly see the rapid decline of our society and I truly feel I, along with anyone reading this may need to do something to try and slow it a bit.

Maybe this will be my small part?

Lloyd Hill