Unlawful Display of the Flag

I knew a guy back in my college days who was arrested for flying a Viet Cong flag. He was charged with “unlawful display of the flag” even though it was not an American flag. The offended so-called patriots who called the cops were placated for the moment however, and that was what counted at the time.

I knew the guy so I followed his case for a while. The charge was later changed to “disturbing the peace.” He beat the rap, represented by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). The precedent they used was a case where Nazis flew a Nazi flag outside of a Jewish convention and caused a riot. The Nazis were acquitted based on First Amendment protections.

I always thought flags were pretty neat. I used to look at the page in the Encyclopedia with the small color pictures of flags. Besides the art though, it seems they are given more importance than they deserve. Here I go again, but how about pledging allegiance to the Constitution? It actually means something. The flag, being a symbol, is not connected to any ideals, just an institution. Policies and principles of an institution can change and still, people will pledge allegiance to that institution because of the flag that represents it.

The flag can divert attention from changes that have occurred, while maintaining support for new policies with which people disagree. But then maybe the presence of the flag should remind us of the original intent when our country was founded, and be an anchor holding us to those ideals.

As we hauled calves to the Waverly Sale Barn we saw an American flag defaced with the flag of Israel with the words: “I Stand With Israel.”

Let me make it clear, I am not an anti-Semite. This term has become popular as a slur for anyone who questions the authority of the US government to steal from American citizens to support Israel. I am one of those questioning people. My opinion is rooted in a statement by George Washington warning future generations of the implications of getting involved in foreign conflicts. It makes perfect sense to me as I think through the fact that our friends' enemies become ours as well.

I've been pretty good at avoiding conflicts throughout my life. I don't see any reason to have my government, as my employee, do otherwise. I look around at my fellow Americans and I see vast ignorance of what war is actually like. I've had extensive conversations with veterans who have seen the worst of war. Their hesitancy to discuss it is the most telling feature of those conversations.

I'm not going to snitch to the FBI on that disgusting treatment of our flag because of the overblown importance put on a symbol like that. He's wrong but he doesn't deserve a fine and a year in prison. Besides, the politicians sending weapons of mass destruction to the Israeli government are guilty of far more heinous crimes than the flag desecrater near Shell Rock. He is still free to send his own money and go kill people if he wants. That would show a lot more courage than is exhibited by these devastating proxy wars our betters are promoting these days.