Remove the Confederate flag? Your Say Interactive

South Carolina legislators have yet to decide whether to remove the Confederate flag, and a recent Paste BN/Suffolk University poll shows that the country is equally divided.

Less than half, 42%, of Americans say the flag is racist and should be removed. Another 42% say the flag represents Southern history and heritage. And just over a third (38%) of Americans, according to the poll, see the recent attack on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church as a reflection of the larger problem of racism across the country.

We asked our readers what they thought best represented the American spirit: allowing the flag to fly or taking it down.

Below, see the national conversation in interactive graphics, and read the best of Paste BN reader comments from social media. Then give your views in the quick polls: What do you consider a true reflection of the American spirit? What's the best way to heal the racial divide that the Charleston shooting and the subsequent Confederate flag battle have brought to the fore? What does the Confederate flag represent? For all reader comments, graphics and the chance to voice your view, visit the full Paste BN Opinion site.