There is nothing at all wrong with celebrating the heritage of the place you live. I realize that now days teachers and schools attempt to trivialize the Civil War and say it was a war fought to free the slaves...but nothing is further from the truth. Some of the division came from the issue of slavery, but what it boiled down to is that the Civil War was fought over a state's right to govern itself through laws that supercede Federal laws. And, it's hard to argue otherwise since the first Emancipation Proclamation wasn't issued until the second year of the war and exempted border states from having to free their slaves. And, if one of y'all still persist that the Civil War was fought to free the slaves, explain this quote from Lincoln:

"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything."

BTW, an interesting web page dealing with Lincoln's thoughts about the slaves is here: http://sztybel.tripod.com/lincoln.html It is documented as well.

Pure and simple, Lincoln freed the slaves as a political maneuver hoping to incite rebellion from the slaves in the South and, furthermore, hoping to land enough of the abolitionist vote to keep him in office come 1864. It's foolish to think otherwise. And, it's also foolish to equate the Confederacy with Racism...because in 1861 most everyone on both sides were racist. It wasn't like it was confined to the south.