Debate waves on

Georgian legislators still haven’t reached an agreement over the fate of the state flag. Friday the state passed into legislature a temporary flag including the state seal on a blue field in the top left corner, with three red and white stripes and the words “In God We Trust.”

Even though this version mirrors the original three-stripe Confederate flag, it has been allowed because it doesn’t include the infamous rebel “X.”

This is wrong. The flag should in no way resemble the one used during Confederate times. That was a time of strife and segregation against black people. Therefore nothing that arouses memories of those times should be used.

The flag saga began in 2001, getting rid of the 1956-issue state flag because it brandished a large Confederate emblem.

With this current bill, a public referendum will be held March 2004 letting voters decide if they want to keep the flag. If it’s rejected, a second referendum will be held in July 2004.

The second referendum should not be held. It will only provide voters with one more opportunity to choose the Confederate version.

This whole ordeal is ludicrous. No other state has had a major flag change since South Dakota altered its flag in 1963. Now Georgia might change flags three times in four years? That is too much unnecessary chaos.

With today’s economy faltering, the state cannot continue to be finicky. Every time the flag changes, it costs $280,000 to buy one for every school, courthouse and government building. That doesn’t even include the money needed for private flag sales.

Hopefully, Georgia will come to terms with its flag issues soon and acknowledge that the racial animosity lingering behind the Confederacy must be buried before the financial woes get out of hand.

Dominique Drake for The Famuan.