Here is my opinion on flags and ideological symbols of all sorts:

If you are so devoted to a symbol that you feel threatened when people "disrespect" it or disagree with your belief about what it represents, you are probably unclear about your true convictions. You are using the symbol to compensate for the fact that you haven't thought your beliefs through.

If you are so offended by a symbol that you support banning it or physically assaulting those who display it, then you are probably giving away your power to that symbol and removing focus from the issues that you really care about.

Yes, I'm talking about the Confederate flag. I'm also talking about the stars and stripes. I'm talking about the Christian cross, the Islamic crescent, and those thin blue line stickers that you see adhered to the rear windows of pickup trucks. I'm talking about rainbow Pride t-shirts and swastika tattoos and Twitter hashtags.

I am talking about every national flag and every symbol that people hold either sacred or in abhorrence. They are not lives. They are not important. They are not even ideas. They are but thin, frail, refracted versions of ideas. For most of them, not two people in ten can come to an agreement on what they represent.

Do not hide behind symbols.

Engage with ideas. Understand the ideas you espouse. If they are good ideas, spread them. If they are bad ideas, fight them. Study the ideas of your ideological opponents, so that you can effectively argue against them.

Ignore the symbols. They do not empower you, and they have no power over you.