There has been a lot of interesting discussion on this topic, and fortunately it hasn't got as nasty as I thought it would when I first started reading. What I get out of this is that if it makes you feel good to fly the flag, then do so. If not, then don't. I think people on both sides of this issue are entitled to their opinion. For this reason, however, I must take exception to the original post as stated:
On Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should m ake it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of our country's worst tragedy.
To this I say a resounding
baloney!!!
Fly it if you wish, don't if you don't. But stop passing out duties and obligations please.
I don't fly flags, Canadian or American (I am a dual citizen). Although this is not the case for me, it is against some people's religious principles. So making it a duty would actually violate the bill of rights, as well as freedom of expression (it has to be part of that freedom NOT to express). I remember back in 1969 during an anti-Vietnam march when a group of protesters lowered the US flag and raised a Viet Cong flag. A group of businessmen jumped in and a fistfight ensued. The guy I was with looked at me and said in an ironic tone "look at that--fighting over symbols." Frankly, I was not sympathetic to either group involved in the scuffle. Those who lowered the US flag did a disservice to the message the rest of us were trying to put across, and if the businessmen thought they were "defending the honour" of old glory, then they were even sillier. I can understand fighting for safety, for food, for freedom, but not for an abstraction. That's just me.
I respect any body's right to fly a flag. Personally, I agree with the poster who stated that nationalism is not necessarily a positive force and revving it up is not necessarily good for the world at large. I understand being proud to be American, but my mother always taught me not to brag. Few of us deserve any credit for being American anyway--for most of us it just happened.
As for flying it to support veterans, I can understand that sentiment. But to imply that all veterans who fought did so to "preserve our freedom" is pretty naive (although certainly many did). More often in recent history troops are used just to be "thugs for capitalism" as General Smedley Butler put it. I don't consider Vietnam or Iraq to be defenses of freedom. I consider them to be national shames. What is shameful, however, is the policy, not the soldiers who did their country's bidding. The blame lies with all of us, for allowing our government to lie to us and prosecute such a destructive foreign policy.
So, bottom line, like I said. Fly the flag with pride if that's what turns your crank. But allow those of us who do not wish to our freedom of expression as well.
