I was interested to read the June 4 front-page article “Confederate flag still flew till massacre forced Haley’s hand,” describing then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s (R) ambivalence about the flying of the Confederate flag on the South Carolina State House grounds. Like any good politician, Ms. Haley appears to be quite adept at being on all sides of issues.
However, the essential and inescapable question here is this: Which are more important — states’ rights or human rights? One cannot possibly be on both sides of this question, because the major state right that the Confederate “heroes” were fighting to defend involved the denial of basic human rights to an entire class of people. Furthermore, if one claims that states’ rights are more important, there is a further problem. This position would have to be reconciled with our oft-heard claims of being the most Christian of nations and with our habit of lecturing other countries on democracy, freedom, human dignity, etc.
Vic Bermudez, Springfield
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