Old fashioned Southern food is not the only thing currently cooking in New Orleans. Confederate History Month is upon us once more, and there is controversy cooking over Confederate memorabilia and monuments among the states that are dedicated to that infamous rebellion. Many of the monuments were vandalized in the past. More than one hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee still celebrate National Confederate Day. Several years ago a Kentucky town welcomed a new monument for Confederate soldiers. There has been ongoing controversy regarding the fate of Confederate monuments and memorabilia .

Monuments are not the only reminder of the rebellion that is preserved and celebrated. In 2018, Tennessee experienced a surge in Confederate flag license plate sales. Advocates of the Confederate memorabilia accuse adversaries of “political correctness.” However, last year, a new front opened in the confederate controversy. A store in North Carolina engaged in a “chocolate Confederate battle.” This store deployed a new weapon to combat the rebel flag: chocolate! This store offered free chocolate to anyone who burned a Confederate flag. Trevor Noah commented on a Confederate celebration, and raised the very important question of what blacks were supposed to do to take part in this holiday.

On The View, Whoopi Goldberg once compared the Confederate flag to a swastika. Whoopi Goldberg is not the only one to ever draw this comparison. Comedian Dennis Miller joked “If the confederate flag is just a quaint part of Mississippi history then the swastika is just a plus sign doing cartwheels.” The Washington Post once featured an article on this comparison, as well. The article was called “Is it time for the Confederate flag to be as taboo as the Nazi swastika?” The article raised the question of whether the flag was a symbol of racism or simply “southern heritage.” This question has existed for almost as long as the Confederate flag has.

According to Alter Net, a monument to Confederate soldiers debuted in Alabama in 2017. It is similar to the one that was vandalized in Tennessee. It is possible that a select few people display the confederate flag only for a sense of belonging. However, monuments like this are actually a bolder statement than a Confederate flag. Unlike the flag, this monument is specifically designed to celebrate the Confederate government and what it stood for. The monument literally speaks for itself. It reads “Confederate States of America.” This is a monument not to the old south, or to soldiers, but to the Confederate movement itself. The same principle is true with the statue in Tennessee; it is devoted to the soldiers of the Confederacy itself.

As far as the Confederate flag goes, Trevor Noah (and many adversaries of the Confederate flag) correctly pointed out that the Confederates did in fact fight the Civil War to preserve slavery. A Confederate flag may not be a swastika but it does not represent anything good. Whatever a confederate flag may be, the monuments symbolize something obviously worse. If burning a flag gets you a free chocolate, what is the policy for statues? Vandalize a statue and get a free cake?

During this unprecedented crisis, the country needs to be united more than ever. The country is literally divided more than ever, due to the lock-down. Whether it’s a flag, monument or month, can we really handle anything that could divide our nation more? Can we  afford a month that symbolizes division even more?