It’s been a week of change, hasn’t it? We are seeing the Confederate Flag being removed and taken down all over the country. You can debate the real reason for the flag, but the reality is, no matter what it was supposed to stand for, it has become a symbol of oppression and hate. Time to put it to rest. As someone who graduated from J.E.B Stuart High School, named for Confederate cavalry leader,  I realize it might be time to change that name too. Maybe we shouldn’t name our schools are war “heroes.” History has a way of changing how we view them.

Sadly, the flag can easily be replaced by another object that represents the same hatred. And let’s face it, a flag didn’t kill those people in Charleston and all the other places in the U.S. So the gun battle continues. The removal of the flag, while I believe important, won’t change what is in people’s hearts.

Today, we heard the Supreme Court declare that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States.  For many of us, this seemed like a no-brainer, but you can never be sure how the Court will rule. Congratulations to everyone who’s been waiting to wed or have their marriages recognized. So many of us celebrate with you today.

It is an exciting time to be alive – so many changes in my lifetime and I’m not that old! The changes that have occurred socially, politically and culturally in the last 50 years are amazing. So today I picked another obvious tune from my IPod – the one song where I can actually understand what Bob Dylan is singing – “For the Times They are A-Changin’.”