Congress is on the move to ban flag burning--again!
This is a touchy subject. One that raises passions to flash points. Before I add my two cents worth, let me first quote from another source, a real outsider: The following comes from a disimpassioned observer. Someone not of this earth, but from outside this earth. An alien! Before you reject that, give it a read. It makes sense to me.
"Earth cultures have one basic thing in common: They are all dysfunctional. Once a culture has decided which dysfunctional aspects it wishes to represent, it raises a flag to declare its position, packages its preferred brand of dysfunctionality for consumption at home and abroad, and passes it off as a national heritage to be proud of and protected at all costs."
No one knows for sure how many U.S. flags are burned each year. Congressional estimates range as high as seven! I'd had no idea the number was this high. I was absolutely appalled!!
One Fourth of July, I contemplated igniting the barbeque with--instead of charcoal lighter--a U.S. flag. It was all in the spirit of the holiday. But the thought of bunting tainted weinies made me opt for the lighter fluid.
Thousands of flags are burned by Boy Scouts each year to retire them respectfully. About 7 are burned out of protest. It's these 7 that congress is seeking to ban because they consider it a desecration.
That's where I have some difficulty. Isn't it the intention of the flag burner that we're really trying to stop, i.e.what he's thinking? And banning that is a ban on freedom of expression.
If we're to accept desecration as an act of disrespect or impiety toward something regarded as sacred then I'm really offended! Not by the burning of a flag in protest of our nation's actions so much, but by our nation's desecration of over 1,700 American and 100,000 Iraqi lives.
If you accept life is sacred, then how is it we can get so upset by the burning of a symbol while the object which it represents has disrepected and desecrated over 101,700 American and Iraqis fraudulently? I find this far more outrageous.
2 comments:
I think Congress is trying to make conservatives forget about the Terri Schaivo debacle. The flag burning amendment was probably co-ordinated with Karl Rove's statement that liberals are weenies and can't protect you from danger.
Even conservatives are unhappy with the Iraq war (what took them so long?) and now it's time for a big distraction. Maybe we'll start having "terra" alerts again. You remember those scary pronouncements we used to get on a regular basis before that sham election that got Chimpy a second term?
Yes, it scares me, but I agree. I think the extreme right tried to get inside our heads by using Terri Schiavo's as a political football. (Yes, pun intended! And if my irreverence pisses off folks reading this, it should!) Thankfully, it didn't work, so the neocons move on to a new tack. And that's scary.
What really frighten's me is Bush's shriveling approval ratings which will increase the level of desperation coming from "Bush's Brain," Mr. Rove. Stay tuned for further, more alarming, manifestations of pathologies run amuck!
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