Whenever people from other
countries ask me why Americans make such a big deal out of their flag, I roll
my eyes and say, “I have no idea!”
Flags. Every country has one.
Some religions have them. In this country, every state has one, in addition to
the country’s flag.
Flags have been around for
centuries. I’m sure T-Rex would have had a flag if he could only have reached
it.
But only in this country do
people stand with hand to heart pledging their allegiance to a piece of cloth.
Yes, they also pledge that allegiance to the country as a sovereign nation. But
why, when no other country in the world has a pledge to their flag, do we have
one?
Now, before you go ballistic and
accuse me of being unpatriotic, I’m not saying anyone shouldn’t do this. I’m simply asking why we do when nowhere else is
it done. Incidentally – you can google this – it is actually unconstitutional
to require students to recite the
Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.
Other countries have national
anthems that are sung at the beginning of sporting events and national events –
or when an athlete from their country wins a medal in the Olympics.
We have one of those, too. In fact
we have no shortage of patriotic songs about our country and our flag. Yet,
with the exception of multi-national events, almost any time the national
anthem is sung, the pledge is said as well. But why?
Americans are huge flag-wavers.
At every parade on every national holiday, the flag figures in a big way. Nearly
every organization marching in a parade carries a large American flag.
Yes, to welcome troops back from
war, at royal weddings and many national events, other countries use their
flag. But this isn’t always the case. On Armistice Day (Remembrance Day), while
Americans wave their flag, the British wear poppies.
America has rules about the flag:
which way the flag must face when hanging horizontally or vertically, how to
fold it, how to dispose of it when it gets worn out. It’s not supposed to be
flown after sunset unless it is lighted. It isn’t supposed to be flown in
inclement weather unless it’s weatherproof. Yet nearly every business in this
country seems to have a large flag flying.
What I find a bit odd is that the
proper way to dispose of a worn out flag is to burn it. Yet, people protesting
against the United States burn the flag and it’s considered a sign of
disrespect.
American flags are also not
supposed to be worn as clothing, so a bandana around someone’s head that is
clearly made to look like an American flag is a flagrant violation. And you see almost all politicians in the US
wearing flag pins on their lapels. Yet no one is incensed by these practices.
Other countries don’t seem to
raise flags to the level of veneration that Americans do. So why do Americans
do it?
Throughout history flags have
been used to mark out land ownership, to define which group of knights or
soldiers were holding ground, and to indicate that one side or other is still
part of the mix. The flag was draped over the body of a slain warrior, and a
white flag was flown to indicate surrender.
Even in modern games, capturing
the “enemy” flag is a symbol of winning.
Yet Americans enshrine their flag
in a way that other nations don’t. Not long ago, some American athletes chose
to show their protest of issues that should have gone away centuries ago but
haven’t. Their choice of protest was to kneel during the National Anthem (and the Pledge of Allegiance).
Some people, encouraged by the
current occupant of the White House, demanded that these athletes be fired
immediately. Who did they think they were, showing such disrespect for the
flag? These same people who were so offended would no doubt die of apoplexy if someone
dared hint at any attempt at regulating guns in this country. That, they say,
is infringing on their second amendment right to bear arms.
Yet they ignore the fact that the
protesting athletes are merely exercising their first amendment rights to free
speech.
And how is kneeling
disrespectful? One kneels to be knighted. In many faiths, one kneels to pray.
They simply chose not to recite the pledge and quietly and respectfully kneel
instead. They did not yell; they did not disrupt others; they did not set the
flag on fire. They knelt. And that is their right.
It wasn’t the fact that they were
exercising their rights. It was the fact that others didn’t agree with their
opinion. And mostly, it was because these athletes were people of color.
Those who thought they should be
fired would have beaten a path to the nearest law firm if they were fired for
exercising their own first amendment rights. If they found the behavior of the
athletes so offensive, the proper response was to exercise their own first
amendment rights and boycott the games of the offending teams. Money talks in
America.
Besides, all the athletes did was
fail to salute a piece of cloth.
