Vision-less leadership about the Confederate flag

I was so disappointed by the comments from local leaders in today's story about the ACC and NAACP, I instantly began penning a column in my head that would start something like this:

``Somebody call Dorothy; Rep. Thad Viers apparently needs a brain, and the rest of our local leaders need heart and courage. On the Confederate flag issue, their leadership is rudderless, visionless and just plain dumb.''

I believe all of that but may hold off from writing that for Friday's paper because I'm not sure it will be the best use of my time or space. I have more thinking and praying to do about it between now and then before I decide. But there are several reasons why their responses anger me. The first one is obvious.

Rep. Viers is talking about goats' gonads, as though he's some shock jock, instead of calmly explaining his position. I thought Viers, of all people, would be trying to be a bit more humble, would have tried to mature since his unfortunate run-in with the law a couple years ago. Apparently he hasn't, so that touched a nerve. But beyond that, our legislators -- and not just the local ones -- don't seem to get that our economy has changed and won't ever be the same, which means the smart thing to do is to reassess everything we are doing as a state so we can be in the best position to take advantage of the newly-emerged economy, once the recovery takes place.

There was a time we could thumb our nose at the rest of the country and not care about our image because our textile and manufacturing industries were so strong. But just this week, the latest sign of how much that has changed was the shuttering of the Georgetown steel mill, which once employed upwards of 1,400 Georgetown residents with solid, high-paying jobs. Our elected officials must recognize such changes and respond accordingly. They also should reassess their own philosophies about governing. For example, the State Board of Economic Advisors found that tax cuts implemented a few years ago were largely to blame for such a steep decline in our budget. According to many who govern us in this state, tax cuts are always positive. That notion has to be challenged, and in a hurry.

We need change -- real change -- and our local leaders are talking about how angry they are with the NAACP. But here's the truth: If that organization lifted its boycott tomorrow, our image of a race-unfriendly place -- which is fueled by the Confederate flag -- will not go away. We need to take proactive steps. One of them would be to remove the flag from Statehouse grounds. In 2000, it was enough to just take it off the dome. As I said earlier, times have changed and our economy is hurting. We can't afford to have any unnecessary barriers to economic progress.

Think about it this way: There are several business owners in this area who likely have reverence for that flag, but the vast majority of them are smart enough not to fly it in front of their business. Why? Because it would call into question the purpose of the business and give people a reason to avoid their establishment. It would be a dumb move, business wise. The same applies to the state at large. We give people reasons not to come because of unresolved issues such as the flag, and we don't even have the vision to settle old cases such as the ``Orangeburg Massacre'' and other such segregation-era events. Leaders who had vision and courage and heart -- and brains -- would be finding away to remove barriers to the state's progress, not remain satisfied to fight a war that was lost a century and a half ago. And because the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War will soon be upon us, our image as a state -- and that flag -- will be front and center on a national stage again. We can't afford to allow that to happen. Is having that flag on Statehouse grounds really worth all of that? And one last question: What sense does it make that it takes a super-majority of the General Assembly to remove a piece of cloth -- the flag that went up in 1962 cost $9 -- from Statehouse grounds?

Rep. Viers is talking about goats' gonads, as though he's some shock jock, instead of calmly explaining his position. I thought Viers, of all people, would be trying to be a bit more humble, would have tried to mature since his unfortunate run-in with the law a couple years ago. Apparently he hasn't, so that touched a nerve. But beyond that, our legislators -- and not just the local ones -- don't seem to get that our economy has changed and won't ever be the same, which means the smart thing to do is to reassess everything we are doing as a state so we can be in the best position to take advantage of the newly-emerged economy, once the recovery takes place.

There was a time we could thumb our nose at the rest of the country and not care about our image because our textile and manufacturing industries were so strong. But just this week, the latest sign of how much that has changed was the shuttering of the Georgetown steel mill, which once employed upwards of 1,400 Georgetown residents with solid, high-paying jobs. Our elected officials must recognize such changes and respond accordingly. They also should reassess their own philosophies about governing. For example, the State Board of Economic Advisors found that tax cuts implemented a few years ago were largely to blame for such a steep decline in our budget. According to many who govern us in this state, tax cuts are always positive. That notion has to be challenged, and in a hurry.

We need change -- real change -- and our local leaders are talking about how angry they are with the NAACP. But here's the truth: If that organization lifted its boycott tomorrow, our image of a race-unfriendly place -- which is fueled by the Confederate flag -- will not go away. We need to take proactive steps. One of them would be to remove the flag from Statehouse grounds. In 2000, it was enough to just take it off the dome. As I said earlier, times have changed and our economy is hurting. We can't afford to have any unnecessary barriers to economic progress.

Think about it this way: There are several business owners in this area who likely have reverence for that flag, but the vast majority of them are smart enough not to fly it in front of their business. Why? Because it would call into question the purpose of the business and give people a reason to avoid their establishment. It would be a dumb move, business wise. The same applies to the state at large. We give people reasons not to come because of unresolved issues such as the flag, and we don't even have the vision to settle old cases such as the ``Orangeburg Massacre'' and other such segregation-era events. Leaders who had vision and courage and heart -- and brains -- would be finding away to remove barriers to the state's progress, not remain satisfied to fight a war that was lost a century and a half ago. And because the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War will soon be upon us, our image as a state -- and that flag -- will be front and center on a national stage again. We can't afford to allow that to happen. Is having that flag on Statehouse grounds really worth all of that? And one last question: What sense does it make that it takes a super-majority of the General Assembly to remove a piece of cloth -- the flag that went up in 1962 cost $9 -- from Statehouse grounds?