When the Confederate Flag came down in Columbia, South Carolina — I wrote what I have shared below. I intended it as a facebook status, but after considering the timing and the format, I decided not to post it. However, I think I should share my thoughts with you. If you have found your way here from my facebook feed, thank you. I hope you read to the end.

Buckle up, y’all. Some of you may unfriend me. Some of you may not read this, but I promise you — it’s worth reading.

America’s promise is what led my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather John Kinnaird to bring his wife and three children across the Atlantic on a months-long journey from Scotland to Ireland to Charleston in 1768. America’s promise allowed him to buy land in Newberry County, South Carolina (just outside of Columbia) soon thereafter.

John Kinnaird, Sr. also committed the South’s sin, and owned slaves. Even with his thick Scottish accent, he served this country of ours during the Revolutionary War. He knew America’s promise was worth fighting for.

His son, William Kinnaird II, served these United States during the War of 1812. Defending America’s promise once again.

John’s great grandson, Luther fought for Alabama in the Civil War. Luther fought to save his economic interests. Luther owned slaves. Luther would not understand what happened today in Columbia. Luther was fighting for Alabama against the President Lincoln and Central Government in Washington.

The South lost. The Civil War ended. And Luther’s grandson, Alvin Latrelle Kinnaird of Jugtown (Gardendale), Alabama fought the Axis and the Kaiser during World War I. He took the Kinnaird name right back to defending America’s future.

My grandfather, Leon Douglas Kinnaird, Alvin’s son, fought the Japanese in World War II. He fought the Communists during the Korean War. His oldest son, Wayne, served our country during the First Gulf War. Grandpa was on the military base in Selma when John Lewis, Hosea Williams, and those brave marchers were brutally beaten by the Dallas County Sheriff Deputies and George Wallace’s State Troopers. My grandpa’s oath to uphold the Constitution kept him and all the Kinnairds out of the crowd of thugs. He was filming what happened from behind the fence on the base right next to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and Highway 80. Somewhere, we have that 8mm film. Grandpa passed in December 2001, worried my dad’s younger brother, my Uncle Tim would have to fly missions over Afghanistan.

My father, born in 1955 and in possession of a high draft number, was saved from the Draft and Vietnam by a miracle of Richard Nixon’s election and the end of the Vietnam War.

My father taught me what it means to work for a living. Nothing is given, everything is earned. He and my momma raised me in the South in a home free of prejudice. We were told to love one another, forgiving one another, just as Christ forgives us.

The South’s sin of slavery and the racial injustices of Jim Crow can never be undone — all those who were enslaved from 1607 until 1865 and kept under the thumb of an oppressive set of laws from 1865 until 1965 deserve to be treated equally. Just as the families forgave the racist terrorist who took the precious lives of the Mother Emanuel 9 — so many families across these United States have forgiven “the South” for what happened.

But their forgiveness is only half of the story. On July 10th, 2015, South Carolina made a symbolic effort at reconciliation. Black and White in South Carolina stood together in Columbia and illustrated how we are stronger together. We must be united and not divided. We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

Take some time this week and pray. Consider your thoughts about The Army of Northern Virginia’s battle flag. Think about what it actually stands for. Meditate on your own thoughts about reactions to the battle flags coming down in Montgomery, Alabama and Columbia, South Carolina. Think about your reactions to “Southern Lives Matter”. Think about your reactions to “Black Lives Matter”.

Pray about becoming more Christ-like and loving your fellow man. Not a meek, weak, reverential, quiet, empty love, but a true love for all God’s children. A love which conquers all. A love which allows you to see outside of your own self-interest and prejudices to what really matters for all of us. The American promise of hope and a future for your family.

Pray about the arc of the moral universe and think about the American promise of liberty and justice for all. Pray about accepting everyone as equals and loving thy neighbor as thyself.

The Mother Emanuel 9's families have forgiven. But they and so many others downtrodden by a system built to serve the purposes of one select group of rich, white men in the South from 1607 until 1965, must not be excluded from our deliberations any longer.

We must solve our problems together. We must strive for the American promise, “all men are created equal”. Black lives do matter, and we must understand and recount the many years of injustice faced by our black brothers and sisters. The Deep South still has racists. The “liberal” North has racists. The only way to overcome racism is love.

Love for one another overcame so much hate in South Carolina when the flag came down, and the same love needs to overcome the hate of misunderstanding.

The magic bullet is love.

We are all God’s children.

God is love.

Have a great week.

Love,

Darren