The Confederate Battle Flag - Symbol of Cognitive Dissonance

I fist noticed the phenomenon when I was a junior high kid in Arkansas, and the teacher reminded us that the following Monday was a school holiday for Robert E. Lee’s birthday. “What??” I thought. “Why would you make a holiday for a general on the opposing side of the civil war? A general who surrendered! The war is over! The south lost! Why are you still holding on to lost causes?” Of course, I wasn’t brash enough to say any of this out loud. I probably would have been given licks with the paddle. (Corporal punishment was very much a thing in Arkansas schools at the time. And if you didn’t guess, “licks” means “spanks.”) 

Along with celebrating civil war generals, I've also seen over the years many people display the confederate flag. This was usually as a symbol of rebellion, a strange kind of national pride, and occasionally for what it really was: a symbol of refusing to give up on a caste system based on race, skin color, or ethnic origin - in short, to promote white supremacy. 

But what really confuses me is when people wave the confederate army flag and shout how patriotic they are. Huh?? How can you wave the flag that symbolizes being AGAINST the United States of America while professing that you are vehemently FOR the United States of America? For example, when a group rallied in Portland in opposition of Black Lives Matters protesters, obviously their use of the confederate flag was to shout their opinion that Black Lives Do NOT Matter, at least not as much as white lives. But when asked, they said they were there to show their patriotism, their loyalty to the United States (and President Trump), and their desire to protect federal property. 

Again, I’m confused. That flag was raised as part of a rebellion against the United States, to NOT be a part of the United States, in the bloodiest war in U.S. history, which started, ironically, with an attack on federal property, Fort Sumter. And now people are waving that flag and saying how wrong these protesters are who are rebelling against U.S. policy or practice and, in some cases, attacking federal property. Apparently it was OK to do those things to protect the institution of slavery, but it’s not OK to do them to rebel against the vestiges of slavery. 

Similarly, I was confused when I came across a small cemetery on a hike a few years ago, and saw gravestones with American flags on the graves of confederate soldiers, like this one:

At first glance, I wondered if someone was trying to make a statement, like “ha ha! The Confederate States of America lost and the USA won! So I’m going to put an American flag on your grave to rub your nose in it!” But no, I think the person who placed the flags honestly believes that these are patriotic heroes. I don’t question that these soldiers did what they thought was right, and perhaps fought valiantly for their cause. But why would someone think that a soldier who rebelled against, perhaps even hated, the United States, would now be proud to have the stars and stripes on their grave? Why would the passage of more than a hundred years make an anti-American now pro-American? 

As a final example, why do we have statues, portraits, and military bases to honor the leaders of the secession? If fighting valiantly against the United States of America, even if you lose the war, is a measure of greatness, why don’t we honor other heroic soldiers, like General Cornwallis, Hirohito, or Erwin Rommel? They opposed the United States, they lost in battle, and they surrendered. Don’t they deserve some praise? How is that different? We have a Fort Benning; why not a Göring Air Force Base? How did we reach the point of honoring enemies of the state as heroes of the state?

It all comes back to the notion that, somehow, preserving hatred toward the United States of America and its constitution is patriotic. Or rather, holding onto a wish that the country you wish you had - where white supremacy reigns - is noble and worthy. And honoring those who attacked and rebelled against the United States is being patriotic. How can these opposites live in people’s heads today? It comes down to this: cognitive dissonance. 

As you may know, cognitive dissonance is the process of people justifying new information and beliefs that don’t necessarily align with their values in order to eliminate feelings of guilt or psychological discomfort. For example, you may go along with or even join in teasing the fat kid at school because you don’t want to be left out, or worse, made fun of yourself. And pretty soon you believe the bad things that are being said, so that you can justify actions which previously you felt were wrong. You have to tell yourself that Blacks, Jews, or immigrants are lazy, poor, ignorant, or overly-ambitious to make yourself feel that they deserve the treatment they get. The ruling class will go out of its way to segregate and keep these groups poor and ignorant, so they can further justify bad attitudes and treatment toward them. Besides, it’s generally easier to hate the stranger than someone you’ve gotten to know. 

And while I thought I was pretty clever when I made this connection between cognitive dissonance and flying the confederate flag, it turns out that the topic of cognitive dissonance in racial and ethnic xenophobia has been studied in depth. In fact, studies have shown a strong correlation between lasting xenophobia and proximity to where atrocities have occurred, such as the southern U.S. and near Nazi concentration camps. (For example, see https://www.futurity.org/us-south-racial-bias-cotton-king/ and https://source.wustl.edu/2020/03/study-links-present-day-xenophobia-political-intolerance-to-third-reich/.)

As you can imagine, it’s very difficult to convince someone of their own cognitive dissonance. Indeed, cognitive behavioral therapy or other treatments may take a long time to help someone both recognize the dissonance and then do something constructive about it. Of course, we often want to point it out when we see it in others. 

While I don’t claim to be free of any cognitive dissonance in aspects of my own life, I can’t help but want to tell people waving the confederate flag that it represents the exact opposite of what they think they are promoting. It is anti-United States, anti-U.S. Constitution, pro-rebellion, even pro-destruction of federal property, and worst of all: pro-white supremacy. I’m not only not OK with those values, but I’m baffled and disgusted by the hypocrisy of those waving that flag and feeling all patriotic about it. Even though reality can be hard, I wish they would just recognize and admit that they are hateful and anti-American, and then we can work with the cards they’ve dealt.