Seventeen years is a long time to wait in politics. One would think that was the case for David Beasley, former Republican governor of South Carolina. But is it really that long? The answer came last Friday at 10 a.m., as police lowered and removed the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House in Columbia. It was a memorial moment for the state, and the country, and especially so for Mr. Beasley who, in the aftermath of the Charleston church shootings, and with the help of many others, won the fight to have the controversial flag removed. The gesture and its necessity can be perplexing for Canadians. I’m not sure I would have understood it, if not for my good fortune to be on the Capitol building steps with Mr. Beasley as the flag came down. The vivid, emotional meaning of the event transcended geography or common history. The crowd was curiously quiet for a bit. Then the shout began and built in intensity: “Take it down. Take it down. Take it down!” The power of the chant was the force of time moving forward in a way that seemed to obliterate ever going backward. ... Read the full article at the Globe and Mail website.