Boss
Take a Memo:
I don't support the flag flying on public land, but private land I couldn't really care less about. The confederate flag doesn't offend me whatsoever, and I don't think it should be seen as a symbol of racism. However, it is a flag associated with a nation that is NOT the USA, and thus shouldn't fly on public land. It really is that simple.
The 'confederacy' was never a nation.
Well, for 4 years, they were. You can argue they weren't all you like. They had an elected government and had declared independence as a nation. They had a constitution. Other countries do not have to recognize you as a nation for you to be a nation.
What you are espousing is the official Union argument of the time, however... as I told you before, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation as well as his suspension of habeas corpus, can only be Constitutional if the South is an enemy country at war with the Union. Lincoln himself recognized this and said it was Constitutionally problematic, but he took the action anyway.
Presidents do not have the authority to take your property in violation of the 4th Amendment. This is why... oddly enough, the Emancipation Proclamation did not emancipate slaves held in West Virginia. ...Go look it up!