A black flag is more than just a symbol or declaration, kid. Its a declaration of war. It's intent is to make honest merchants and other sailors afraid. A pirate flag isn't just intent for freedom from other nations' authorities, it's a direct warning of intent to defy laws established for the express purpose of protecting people. Raising a pirate flag is different for those reasons. [Don't worry Sabo, half of Smoker's best discussions like this are with Ace, and Luffy's always saving Smoker's sorry ass. Just don't ask what Marco would think, he's prejudiced.]

Some things I have no better choice but to keep secret. It's not out of a desire to obscure facts, but even justice requires some measure of discretion some of the time. This is why I don't deal with absolutes.

I work for the marines. The Government use us as their military might to enforce justice and stability and arrest pirates, but the actions I make, the words I choose, are still always going to be mine. How else can I take responsibility for them otherwise?

Trust who you want then, this is why I prefer to observe things for myself. And speaking from that experience, the truth tends to lie a little between everything. If everyone's got a colored view, trying to overlap all the views will just turn your vision black. But compare the differences and you'll start to see how the picture looks without the added color.