I see that argument a lot. It's not a very good one. At the time we conquered the New World, this kind of racial differentiation to the point of genocide was normal. The USA was nevertheless founded on a principle of equality. It's in our founding documents and it was eventually added to the Constitution itself. We have evolved in our understanding of equality but one might argue that that founding principle has guided us toward ever greater equality. We still have a long way to go.
The Confederacy was explicitly founded on a principle of white supremacy. It's in their founding documents, their Constitution, and the words of their leaders. As Alexander Stephens, VP of the Confederacy
said:
Quote
The new Constitution has put at rest forever all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institutions—African slavery as it exists among us—the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson, in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the "rock upon which the old Union would split." He was right. What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Constitution were, that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with; but the general opinion of the men of that day was, that, somehow or other, in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away... Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the idea of a Government built upon it—when the "storm came and the wind blew, it fell."
Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.
. . . look with confidence to the ultimate universal acknowledgement of the truths upon which our system rests? It is the first government ever instituted upon the principles in strict conformity to nature, and the ordination of Providence, in furnishing the materials of human society. Many governments have been founded upon the principle of the subordination and serfdom of certain classes of the same race; such were and are in violation of the laws of nature. Our system commits no such violation of nature's laws.
He specifically contrasted the ideals of the Confederacy with the ideals of the Union. Aside from that, the rebel flag has been the emblem of white supremacy ever since. It has no other meaning. Even those who cite heritage are talking about a heritage of white supremacy, whether or not they admit it.
For all its imperfections, the US is the country we've still got. The Confederacy is gone; waving the flag serves no other purpose than a continued assertion of white supremacy.
The President (2012) said:
Please proceed, Governor.
Chris Christie (2016) said:
Elizabeth Warren (2020) said:
And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.