There are some aspects of politics that aren't really about politics. They're about who we are, embedded so deep within each of us that a compromise would seem almost sacrilegious. Abortion is certain one of those. And in the great state of South Carolina, the Confederate Battle Flag and whether it should come down from the state capitol, is another.

On Sunday April 2, 2000, hundreds of marchers led by Charleston mayor and one time gubernatorial candidate, Joe Riley, filed out of Marion Square in Charleston to begin a five-day, 120 mile march to Columbia to protest the flag continued existence above the State House. Those who participated in the march include former governor John West, Columbia mayor Bob Coble and novelist Pat Conroy, an S.C. native.

Others expected to march are Bank of America CEO and S.C. native Hugh McColl, University of South Carolina football coach Lou Holtz, Hootie and the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker and Rock Hill mayor Doug Echols.

Said Riley, "By the time the march is completed and you see the list of the leaders who've participated, from all professions and backgrounds, I think that's going to be stronger than a letter to a legislator. That's real, visible evidence that they're out of step."

Both sides of the issue have insisted that something be done quickly to end what has been an embarrassment to the state. Many, including the author, feel that this has become a black eye on the state and has taken valuable legislative time away from other matters. Of course, the South Carolina legislature has a long history of dealing with the same matter for a long period of time. Take for example the recent debate over video poker. The legislature seems to have one solution to such controversial matters, let the voters decide. Which is something I can't figure out. Don't we put these "leaders" in charge in the first place? So what do they do except to let us vote on what they should be doing?

The state Senate this week is expected to begin debate on several proposals to move the flag to various places on the State House grounds. None of the plans, however, has been acceptable to both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and white heritage groups.

The march, scheduled to end Thursday with a noontime rally at the State House, is taking place as South Carolina enters the fourth month of an NAACP tourism boycott over the flag. Riley, Gov. Jim Hodges and the business community say the boycott is costing millions in lost tourism revenue and sparking embarrassing portrayals of the state in news reports across the country.

Something tells me nothing will come of these debates. The flag will keep flying for the time being. And that's too bad. As a white, South Carolina native, that flag embarrasses me. It reminds me of the dark past of the South. It has become a symbol of hatred and intolerance to a whole race of people.

And let's face it. Who has these flags flying? Well, in the part of the state I live in, you see them over mobile homes. Most of them seem to be single wides. These are the same people who have that infamous bumper sticker on the backs of their pick ups, "Heritage Not Hate."

Two things come to mind when I see this. 1.) To a lot of people, it IS hate. And 2.) We lost the fucking war! Get over it! Hey, if you want to remember your ancestors who fought an immoral war, then go right ahead, Bubba. Fly that worn and tattered flag high above your yard full of dilapidated cars on cinder blocks. It's your right to be a fucking moron. But the last place this flag belongs is above the State House, a place where all races and all political affiliations are supposed to come together in peace. Put it in a memorial, a place of honor, out of sight, out of mind.

Now it's early as I write this, so I hope I say everything I want to. First of all, I know who was governor when the flag went up, Fritz Hollings, a Democrat. Somehow, this always comes up in the flag debate. The only reason I can think of this is that Republicans are the vocal minority who wants to keep the flag flying proud. And they think that putting it in the lap of a Democrat is the way to do that. That shit don't work with me. John and Robert Kennedy could have put that thing up personally and it would still need to come down.

Now if Fritz Hollings was governor when it went up and he's still in Congress, that tells you it obviously went up relatively recently. In fact, it went up in 1962, at the height of the civil rights movement in the south. There are many who still feels that this was nothing than the White Power drawing a line in the sand, an affront to Martin Luther King, Jr. and African Americans. It does seem that if it were placed on the dome to honor the dead, it would have been done so sooner than a century after the fact. Besides, you can honor the dead without flying a flag high and proud on the State House.

People, this flag will come down. It may not be this year and it may not be next, but it will come down. And it will be high time.

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