Confederate Flag Controversy

So the South Carolina State Senate signed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol. This is setting a dangerous precedent. From its founding, America has been the bastion of freedom and democracy. The Founding Fathers valued individual freedoms, the kind of freedoms that you just couldn't get in Britain, France, Russia, etc.  To truly enjoy these freedoms you needed a strong faith in God. As we were all taught in school, one of the main reasons America wanted independence from Britain is because Britain has been very oppressive. Americans were taxed like crazy by the Crown and after a while they got tired and said it was time for change. The rest is history. Fast forward 239 years later, and our inalienable rights are being infringed upon by the state. Removing the Confederate flag is rewriting history. To many, the flag symbolizes its true meaning which is Southern pride, not slavery, hate, and racism. When the flag was originally commissioned which was not the Confederate flag, but rather the battle flag of the Northern Virginia army, it served as a symbol of patriotism and belonging. Only later did groups such as the KKK hijacked and co-opted the flag for their own nefarious purposes. 

Yes what Dylann Roof did on that day was completely reprehensible and there is no justification for this heinous and cowardly act of racial violence. However, I also believe the government shouldn't tell us what to do and what not to do; we should decide for ourselves. In my opinion, the whole controversy over the flag is a knee-jerk reaction to an act of violence, just like gun control was a knee-jerk reaction after the Sandy Hook massacre. Today we take down the Confederate flag, tomorrow we'll take down the American flag for the sole reason that certain groups deem it offensive.