A sad event on the eve of Veterans' Day 2015

Last July 2, 2015, Wichita, Kansas Mayor Jeff Longwell ordered the removal of the CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG from the Open Air Flag Museum in his city's VETERANS' MEMORIAL PARK.  Yesterday, the Wichita Board of Park Commissioners demonstrated their lack of historical and legal knowledge on point by voting the flag would remain removed from the park. 

The CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG had flown on it's flag pole in VETERANS' MEMORIAL PARK for over 40 years.  All the while at the base of its pole, a plaque under the BATTLE FLAG reminded visitors of the great test our country went through during the War Between The States.  

However, BEFORE yesterday afternoon's meeting, the supposedly open-minded Wichita Board of Park Commissioners that was supposedly interested in seeking public comment from both sides had already detailed workmen to have the plaque for this flag removed. So much for open-mindedness while seeking public opinion at the yet-to-happen meeting! 

Even the media can't get it right because they, nine times out of ten, will call the CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG the CONFEDERATE FLAG.  And that is not correct. Neither are allegations that:

• Kansas was never part of the Confederacy, so the flag doesn't belong in the Park. The reality of it is, that BATTLE flag flies there in honor of the Confederate dead who lost their lives in the Battle of Mine Creek - in Kansas! (near Pleasanton).
• The Confederacy lost so therefore its improper to honor its dead veterans. The reality of it is, US Public Law [H. R. 358] 72 Stat. 133 (e), recognized "… the term 'veteran' includes a person who served in the military or naval forces of the Confederate States of America…."  Therefore, this flag very much belongs in this park.
• The US flag which flies over the dead Union veterans in cemeteries such as WIchita's own Maple Grove Cemetery on Hillside Avenue was a flag of a nation that was against slavery. Not exactly. The reality is that the Confederate Flag was only flown as a slave flag for a mere 4 years. The U.S. flag was flown as a flag over a land in which slavery was legal and endorsed for 85 years. 

Education, facts and the truth are supposed to be mightier then impulsive emotion.  But, instead of relying on such inconvenient things like US federal law and historical fact, the "leadership" of the City of Wichita preferred instead to yield to ignorance, emotion and political-correctness thereby embodying the statement of "when your emotions are high, your logic is low".  You don't think straight.  

A damned sad occurrence on the day before Veterans Day, 2015.