The Pledge and the Flag

When students are sent home for wearing the American flag….

When a 10 yr old child refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance to make an activist stand on behalf of gay & lesbian rights…

And when a veteran who served tours in Kosovo and Iraq- let alone anyone in this country- is told to take down the American flag or face eviction, something is deeply, deeply wrong.

It’s not that the child in Arkansas shouldn’t be allowed an informed (or ill-informed) opinion on the issue of gay rights and make a stand; it’s not that a private business shouldn’t be able to set its own (misguided) policies…

They all have the freedom to make these choices because of that flag, and what it represents.

And yes, this includes the freedom to not say the pledge and not fly the Flag.

Brave men and women in every generation have given their lives defending that flag, securing the freedom and liberty of every American citizen’s right to dissent.

LL at A Soldier’s Perspective attached the following to his post:

Hello,

My name is Wendy and I’m writing on behalf of myself and James Hooker, the Grammy award winning artist.

With Flag Day coming up on the 14th of June and the 4th of July fast approaching, we’d like to see a national, viral movement to celebrate our country and those special holidays with the playing of James’ song The Pledge. It is reminiscent of Ray Charles’ America the Beautiful in its heartfelt sentiment.

All over this country, it has been increasingly un-PC to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to wear anything with the flag on it. We’d like to see Americans show their pride in their country and to quit being ashamed of being a patriot! The Pledge of Allegiance is not just to the flag, but to our republic, our country, our motherland. It would be awesome to hear that song playing and looped while Old Glory flies over yards across this nation.

I’ve attached a small sample of the song for your review, and if you could please publicize it on your blog or radio show, the song can be downloaded at iTunes here.

Please help us push this out to every American. I will be contacting my local country stations to request the song be played and it would be great to see that suggestion put out there also. I suspect the top 40 stations won’t play it because it’s ok to talk about hookups and getting wasted, but not ok to show a little patriotism. On country stations, they tend to appreciate where we live and how hard our military works to keep us safe.

Even if you just forward this email on to your friends and family, that would be great. The more people that are reminded of Flag Day and the pledge of allegiance, the better.

Thank you very much for your time.

Regards,
Wendy

From Charlie and Dawn Price’s story (linked earlier):

Midwest Realty Management, the company that manages Brookside Apartments on Westfield Street, said the company has respect for all people who serve in the military. The no-flag rule is in place to provide a comfortable and consistent living environment for all apartment residents, the company said in a statement.

“This policy was developed to insure that we are fair to everyone as we have many residents from diverse backgrounds. By having a blanket policy of neutrality we have found that we are less likely to offend anyone and the aesthetic qualities of our apartment communities are maintained,” the statement said.

Do you know what “policy” developed to “insure that we are fair to everyone” from “diverse backgrounds”? The answer lies in everything that American flag embodies and symbolizes.

When does being an American mean taking a stance of neutrality and detachment from being an American?

By Midwest Realty Management reasoning, the American flag should not be flown anywhere- on school grounds, government buildings, or rented property for fear of “offending” someone since we are a nation of “diverse backgrounds”.

We are in America. Nowhere in this country should that flag “offend” anyone who calls himself American. Nowhere in this country should you worry about “offending” anyone by flying the American flag.

And if Midwest Realty Management “has respect for all people who serve in the military” as they claim, then they would honor those who fight and sometimes die defending that flag by proudly flying the American flag on every piece of property they own.

I have the freedom to say this because of that flag.

And if you disagree, well….you can thank that flag you are crapping on for having the freedom to do so.