The red, white and blue banner still adorns the doors of many Americans; it refuses to die as a symbol of a past filled with ignorance and aggression.

The Confederate flag, not the United States one, represents everything modern Americans and the generations preceding them fought to eliminate: racism, slavery and a divided nation. While many will argue that these influences have diminished dramatically in the past few decades, they still prevail in the minds and hearts of some Americans who consider people of various ethnicities, backgrounds and religions of lesser descent.

In the South particularly, there are scores of people determined to prove the Confederate flag is a symbol of Southern heritage and greatness.

Even though many Southerners truly equate the flag to those meanings, they fail to realize the connotations of racism and hatred sewn into the flag.

Elon houses large numbers of both Northern and Southern students. While the school embodies a united front against intolerance and prejudice, Elon also serves as a hotspot for cultural conflict because of its incorporation of students from various regions into one institution.

Modern times separate Elon from the origins of conflict linked to the Confederate flag. Two periods of the flags dominance, the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, highlighted its occurrence as a trigger for slavery and segregation.

The brutality and cruelty associated with these eras cannot be forgotten merely because the flag represents Southern heritage to an assortment of people.

The Confederate flag should be kept only in museums and historical sites as a reminder of past mistakes. Southern heritage alone cannot disregard the blood spilled over this flag and what it meant to our ancestors.

In the year 2000, the South Carolina state government finally passed legislation to remove the Confederate flag from its prominent position atop the statehouse.

Political victories have made ground in stripping the flag of its importance, but human interest must be the backbone that supports these struggles to fight what the flag exemplifies.

This nation, unified for a century and a half, can no longer afford to wave this outdated banner.

Southern heritage will not die with the flag, rather it will continue stronger than ever without the impeding forces of segregation and hatred tied to it. The wounds of racism can only heal if the knife of prejudice is removed.

Elon, in its unique position as both a Northern-Southern influenced school, should be a place for discussion and a forum enabling students to debate the role of the flag and whether it truly has a place in modern society.

Does this mean that Americans shouldn't have the right to wave the Confederate flag? No. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to practice ones own beliefs.

The difference between what is legal and what is ethically right, however, is another battle.

We forge our paths together as Americans everyday. To be divided by one flag will prevent us from honoring another, the one that represents this country and the freedom bound to carry it into the future.

Northerner or Southerner, past or future, we must remember what this country thrives on, not what it lingers over. We have one heritage, our American heritage, and one flag, our American Flag.

Columnist: Brett Sciuletti - 02/22/07