On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a crowd estimated by state police at 46,000 showed up in front of the same courthouse to demand the flag's removal.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Black Coaches Association want the NCAA's South Regional in 2002 moved from Greenville's Bi-Lo Center if the flag is still flying.

Most presidential candidates are avoiding the issue, one exception being Al Gore, who has stated unequivocally that he believes the flag at the South Carolina Statehouse should come down. On Tuesday, President Clinton's spokesman Joe Lockhart said that the president ``thinks the flag shouldn't be flown.''

On Wednesday, South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges announced that he felt the flag should be removed from the dome. The same day, Laura Bush, wife of Republican presidential candidate and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, told a South Carolina television station that the flag "is not a symbol of racism."

This issue pits those who honor the Confederate flag as a celebration of Southern heritage against those who abhor it as a symbol of slavery and oppression. It sounds like a freedom of speech problem, but it's not. If someone were trying to force you to remove the flag from your own property, then it would involve your first amendment rights.

We're talking about public property, though, and that's a different problem. The Statehouse is not a place to display potentially divisive cultural symbols, whether they are religious, nationalistic or racial in nature. If a Nativity scene doesn't belong at the courthouse, the Confederate flag doesn't belong at the Statehouse.

I think that the flag is an unfortunate choice for a symbol of Southern culture. While there certainly was more to the Civil War than just the slavery issue, that is the one most remembered. The banner of an army that fought to continue the practice of slavery is going to be offensive to the descendants of the enslaved, no matter what else the soldiers were fighting for.

I believe you can show pride for your heritage without employing images that disturb others. I show my pride in my German heritage by drinking a German beer, not by displaying a swastika. Florida has a long history of piracy and swashbuckling, but you don't see the Jolly Roger flying in Tallahassee.

Most cultural groups have aspects of their pasts of which they are not overly proud. The trick is not to glorify them.

The South Carolina Statehouse is no place for cultural displays that do not reflect kindly on all residents of the state. It's public property, and therefore should be maintained for the good of the entire public. This means that no symbols that are perceived to favor one group of people over another should adorn it.

If the Confederate flag means nothing more to you than a show of pride for your Southern heritage, then you have every right to tie it to the antenna of your pickup truck. I probably won't be hanging out with you, but I'll support your right to display it on your own personal property.

But a symbol that carries such connotations of racial hatred and bigotry for so many has no place over a building whose occupants are supposedly dedicated to liberty and justice for all.

Watch your hide

Posted by Whitey

"You'd best be writing a correction, 'cause you ain't got no sense mister. Long live the South, and the Dukes of Hazzard. Think about it."

Dear Whitey,

While I think that this is probably a joke, it does bring up a good point. This is not a place for threats and intimidation; it's a site for discussion and debate.

I don't believe that I have all the answers. I fill these columns with the opinions I have at the time that they are written, and hope that my readers' responses can enlighten me, point out my errors, and guide me closer to the truth.

I pride myself on my open mind. To me, a sound argument holds more value than a long-held belief.

I'll be more than happy to publish a correction as soon as you give me that sound argument that shows me where I am wrong.

Posted by Cal:

"The underlying issue is the disgusting attempts of the rabid left-wing extremists who want to perpetuate the myth that the flag and the Civil War were about slavery. They seek to rewrite history and cover up the desperate fight by the people of the Confederacy for STATES' RIGHTS as opposed to the centralized, unconstitutional semi-dictatorship we see continually usurping more and more power, and states' rights, even today."

Dear Cal,

You're right. States' rights and the decentralization of government are the forgotten causes of the Civil War. I also agree that they are ideas worthy of discussion. It is unfortunate that they have been tied to a flag that is perceived by so many to be a symbol of oppression.

I think a better way to demonstrate your desire for more states' rights would be to fly your state flag above the American flag. While this is certain to provoke a controversy, your message will be clear and you won't be branded as racist.

Posted by Paul Seymour:

"I agree with Bush that this is a matter for the people of South Carolina to decide. If the NAACP and their followers want to boycott the State, I think that is an appropriate response. I also agree with the governor that a historical symbol might more appropriately be displayed at a historical location, but I think that this matter, and probably more such matters in the future, should be decided by majority vote."

Dear Paul,

I should make it clear that I am not calling for some kind of federal mandate to force the state of South Carolina to remove the flag. I can spout my opinions on the subject all that I want, but they are meaningless as long as I'm not a South Carolina resident.

Let's not confuse these issues. If you have yet to vote in the poll, please do so as if you lived in South Carolina.

I think a historic display on the Statehouse grounds is appropriate. How about a Civil War museum, where the whole story of the War Between the States can be told? There is no reason to limit the commemoration of Southern heritage to the display of a symbol that many find objectionable.

Posted by d.Imes:

"It is just as inflammatory, prejudicial, and racist for blacks to embrace the African flag as whites are doing with the Confederate flag."

Posted by Steve:

"If you did take it down, they would want to put an African flag up in its place."

Posted by Shawadda:

"I think they should take it down, and put up an African flag."

Dear d.Imes, Steve, and Shawadda,

I'll let you three fight this one out. I expressed my own feelings on this possibility last week when I wrote, "The statehouse is not a place to display potentially divisive cultural symbols, whether they are religious, nationalistic or racial in nature."

I would like to amend that statement to include a provision for a historic display such as the museum I suggested above, on the basis that such an educational addition could benefit the public rather than alienate a particular segment of it.