People that defend the Confederate flag defend it because to them it symbolizes Southern heritage, states' rights and it's a way of supporting their ancestors that fought at died for the Confederacy. Unfortunately, the true meaning of that flag is none of those things.

First of all, the Confederate flag was never the flag of the Confederacy. It was the army of Northern Virginia battle flag. The first actual Confederate flag was stars and bars, but it was changed due to its resemblance to the American flag, which made things confusing on the battlefield. The second had a design similar to the army of Northern Virginia Flag, but only as a square in the upper lefthand corner on a field or white, known as "The Stainless Flag." However, the flag when hanging down could look like a sign of surrender, so instead, the confederacy added a broad red stripe on the righthand side to prevent this mistake from being made. But the point is, "The Confederate Flag" as we know it likely never flew over your great-great grandpa's head.

Second, yes, the Confederacy was about states' rights, but the "right" the war was instigated over was the rights to own slaves. This doesn't mean that everyone who fought in the war on the Confederate side was an awful person, a racist, and a slaveowner. (Well they were probably all a little bit racist, I mean this was the 1800's and everyone was a little bit racist back then, even Lincoln.) But it does mean that the #1 purpose of the creation of the Confederacy was to preserve the right to own slaves. But don't take it from me, take it from the vice president of the Confederacy!

"[Our new government's] foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."

-Alexander H. Stephens

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We all can agree that liberty, freedom, respecting and honoring our troops, and keeping in touch with our heritage are all great things, however, the Confederacy and the flag that we now use to represent it are not.

So what can you do? Here are some alternatives to flying the "Confederate" (*cough cough*, Army of Northern Virginia) flag that still honors your values without paying homage to a government that thought "the negro is not equal to the white man."

1. Your State Flag

Hey! What better way to support state's rights than flying your own state's flag? Each state flag is incredibly unique and typically have special meanings behind all design choices made. For example, the flag above is the flag of Tennessee, each star represents one of the three subdivisions (east, middle, west) of the state.

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2. City flag

And if you want to get more specific, some cities even have their own flags! These can also have complex meanings behind them. My dad, having spent many years both in the city and the suburbs of Chicago, has memorized the meanings behind each of the four stars on the Chicago flag. (Pictured above is the city of Atlanta flag.)

3. Military Branch Flag

A great specific way to show your support for your family or friends in a certain branch of the military. These men and women in service protect our country and others around the world and have done so for over 200 years.

4. "Support our Troops" Flag

The "yellow ribbon" pictured here has a long history . Some of it truth, some of it just folklore, but interesting none the less. Flying this flag is a very clear way to show your support for the United States military in general.

5. The Appalachian Flag

This flag is not an official flag of the Appalachians, but it should be. The Appalachians of the united states have a rich and diverse history and culture, and unfortunately, the people who live there have to deal with many "white trash" and "hillbilly" stereotypes, and even being pre-judged as uneducated for their thick accents. This flag, designed by Secundino Fernandez, has four, well thought out components that each promote Appalachian pride. The blue, representing the sky, "unlimited potential and vision," the brownish red strip being "earth, hard work, and deep roots" the green signifies growth and the white star signifies "purity and [a] guiding light to the rising future."

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6. Gadsden Flag

You've probably seen this flag before. Maybe on the news in videos of tea party rallies or "memed" on the internet as "no step on snek." Some liberals might oppose this flag because they think it's associated with the alt-right movement, and while some of the alt-right may use this flag, you should feel no guilt flying it, because its history is pretty noble and flamboyantly American. First of all, the snake pictured is an American Timber rattlesnake, which is a pretty neat herpetology fact. The origin of a rattlesnake as a sign of defiance started actually as a joke from Benjamin Franklin. At the time, England was sending their convicts over to the United States so he wrote a commentary for a local gazette about how we should just send a bunch of rattlesnakes over to Britain as a "thank you." (source) So at its core, the snake was a symbol of sassy defiance of Great Britain. The flag was later created and used as a symbol of the fight for American independence. "Don't tread on me" essentially means "Hey Britain, stop messing with us and giving us all these taxes and being so controlling." In modern day, it can be a sign of resistance to government restrictions and too much federal government power, its principals align most closely to libertarians. Even though politically people may disagree with you flying this flag, that's your right to have a political opinion and shouldn't feel guilty about it. It isn't a flag that represents white superiority, or treason (well, not treason against the American government at least. It was totally representing treason against the British government but we don't really care about them much anymore, do we?) it's a flag that represents liberty and independence, not hate.

7. American Flag

And of course, what better way to represent independence, freedom, patriotism, and respect for the military than flying the American flag?