The US Supreme Court is considering hearing a case against the Mississippi state flag, which contains the Confederate battle emblem. Unlike most such suits against Confederate symbols, though, the suit is being brought by a Muslim, claiming that the flag is a religious symbol, based on the St Andrew’s Cross (like the Scottish national flag), and thus violates the Constitutional boundary between church and state.
While that argument seems to rest on dubious historic grounds (the designer of the Confederate battle emblem never referred to St Andrew’s cross in its description), there are other states where the connection is far clearer. The Hawaiian state flag, for example, has a Union Jack in the corner — a combination of the crosses of St George, St Andrew, and St Patrick (a triple threat!), and thus much more clearly of religious origin.
But, I mean, yeesh, guys. While it’s sometimes way too easy for folks to slip particularly obvious religion into governmental workings under the guise of “historical and cultural heritage,” this is a case of that being a legitimate excuse if ever there was one. I suspect that that not one in ten thousand Americans realizes the original religious symbolism of the Union Jack, for example — the union of the banners of the patron saints of the three countries involved. It’s hard to argue prejudice when we’re talking ignorance, instead.
It’s even worse with the Mississippi case, since I would argue that virtually nobody looks at the Confederate battle emblem and says, “Hey! Christian symbology!”
Except, it seems, the person bringing the suit.
Heck, Maryland would be a more obvious target, half of its flag containing clear crosses (the arms of the Crossland family). The official flags descriptions of New Jersey and New York both refer to the “goddesses.” And let’s not talk about how eagles, bears, stags, and even stars and, ahem, crescent moons have been used as religious symbols, and feature prominently on various state flags.
Yeesh.
(via Technoptimist)
Sounds like a serious case of getalifeitis to me. Yeesh.