The power of a symbol should never be underestimated, but it shouldn't be overestimated, either. That's the case with the confederate battle flag, which is coming down from public venues all across the South and off retailers' shelves across the nation.
Politicians who have reversed themselves after years of fighting against the flag's removal or treating its presence with indifference are being praised for their courage. Initiatives to take the flag down from the statehouse grounds in South Carolina or remove it from the state flag of Mississippi are being cited as signs of a new consciousness of the toll of official racism.