1.0Radix Journalhttps://radixjournal.comRadix Journalhttps://radixjournal.com/author/radix-j-web/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="VA08gxRpvz"><a href="https://radixjournal.com/2015/07/2015-7-3-capitalism-the-enemy/">Capitalism, the Enemy</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://radixjournal.com/2015/07/2015-7-3-capitalism-the-enemy/embed/#?secret=VA08gxRpvz" width="600" height="338" title="“Capitalism, the Enemy” — Radix Journal" data-secret="VA08gxRpvz" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},!c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var r,a,i,s=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=0;o<n.length;o++)n[o].style.display="none";for(o=0;o<s.length;o++)if(r=s[o],e.source===r.contentWindow){if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;r.height=i}if("link"===t.message)if(a=d.createElement("a"),i=d.createElement("a"),a.href=r.getAttribute("src"),i.href=t.value,i.host===a.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(!o){o=!0;for(var e,t,r,a=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),i=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),s=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<s.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=s[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(a||i)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> By a slim margin of 63-56, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted on May 10 to pull down the Confederate battle flag that has fluttered above the state's capitol dome since 1962 and to remove it to "a place of honor" on the capitol  grounds. The vote was the grand (or perhaps the petty) finale to  a controversy that has lurked above and below the surface of South Carolina's politics for much of the last decade and has now begun to haunt the politics of other Southern states and, indeed, that of the whole nation as well. Proponents of removing the Confederate flag from the capitol argued that the flag is, in the immortal and typically stilted phrasing of a 1991 resolution of the NAACP, "an odious blight upon the universe," or, in the lesser eloquence of Sen. John McCain, "a symbol of racism and slavery." Supporters of the flag argued, generally, that it was not a symbol of racism and slavery, though they seemed to disagree as to what it actually does symbolize— states' rights, Southern independence, cultural tradition, or simply the martial virtues of honor, loyalty, courage, and willingness to sacrifice for a cause that most Americans, learned or not, associate with the Confederacy and its hapless warriors. Like all real symbols, the flag, in fact, symbolizes many different things, most of them intimately connected to each other in the enduring bond called "civilization." If the meanings of symbols could be neatly translated into simple and clear language, there would be no need for symbolism at all.