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Response to "Defending the Flag"
18 years ago
General
For those of you that remember, a while back I posted my "essay" from 2003 called "Defending the Flag". I was a bit surprised to find a reply to that essay.
It took me a while to actually respond to the reply, but I felt it appropriate to post it here (with permission of course), just in case folks might like to read what I wrote. So without further ado...
The Reply:
I am in no way intending to disgrace you or your writings...
"It's a grand ole flag and it's nothin but a rag."
To back that statement up... lemme ask you this question...
How many flags are manufactured everyday in another country and sold here in the United States?
Why do we allow fools and your "Free" people to take that flag and desecrate it by dropping it on the ground, spitting on it or allowing them to burn it.
Were that flag more than "just a rag," we'd shoot every S.O.B. that treated the symbol of this once great nation with such disrespect.
What about Iwo Jima? How many boys were killed pulling off that "patriotic" and "morale boosting" stunt?
Yes, we honor those boys and remember that they were doing something grand. Stupid, but grand and it will be remembered for a long time from now.
And the USS Arizona is another bitter point. You can dig through history to find out exactly what happened there and why that memorial is there to this day.
Hopefully it will remind the politicians to keep their damn fingers out of the military running and help the generals and admirals make the right decisions... instead of letting so many of our young men die.
To honor that flag... we need to protect it, not let it be run over roughshod. Burn another country's flag in a public place and see how many of them try to lynch YOU. What do we do here... "Oh! That is freedom of speech!"
BS!
Response to Reply: 02Oct07
Sir (someone, left blank for a bit of anonymity):
I had intended on responding to this long ago, but in the end, I never did. I’m sorry for that. Now that I’m back out here, doing what I do, it’s time that I make up for that, and put some time into a proper response.
You bring up many points, and in truth, most of them are right on. I can’t dispute them. All I can really do is speak to the facts that I know, and what I hold dear.
Forgive me that I’m going to run down your remarks, essentially line by line in response, as I don’t want to miss any points.
I am in no way intending to disgrace you or your writings...
No insult is taken at all. Again, you have brought up some very pointed but good remarks.
"It's a grand ole flag and it's nothin but a rag."
The flag, while just a “rag” and fabric, is more representative of an ideal. While everyone sees something different when they look at their country’s flag, when I look at the US flag, I see “freedom”. I see the ideals of being able to live your life as full as your dreams and means will allow. I see the right to speak your mind, constructively and creatively, to better society. I’ll speak more to this in a moment, as Free Speech isn’t nearly as grand as the media feels it is.
So what I’m really saying here is that the flag is nothing but a symbol for something much grander, at least, in my opinion. Others, of course, see things differently.
To back that statement up... lemme ask you this question...
How many flags are manufactured everyday in another country and sold here in the United States?
From my understanding, out of all the US flags manufactured, 90% of them are made on foreign soil. To me, this is tantamount to sacrilege, as it simply represents that the flag is not sacred, but a mere bauble to be bought and sold as a commodity, made by the cheapest bidder, and sold at the greatest profit for those who desire to have one.
Even the words “Made in the USA” are a fallacy, because the lawmakers have decided, in their infinite wisdom, that “made” doesn’t have to mean “manufactured”. Now, according to those new laws, “made”, and mean that something as insignificant as a single label can be sewn in, in the US, and then it’s “legal” to claim that the whole thing was “Made in the USA” because technically, the /label/ was indeed made in the USA. To me, “Made in the USA” still means “Made in the USA”, as in 100% of whatever product, was made on US soil, in US factories, by US citizens’ hands. But again, other people see things differently.
Why do we allow fools and your "Free" people to take that flag and desecrate it by dropping it on the ground, spitting on it or allowing them to burn it.
Were that flag more than "just a rag," we'd shoot every S.O.B. that treated the symbol of this once great nation with such disrespect.
What about Iwo Jima? How many boys were killed pulling off that "patriotic" and "morale boosting" stunt?
Yes, we honor those boys and remember that they were doing something grand. Stupid, but grand and it will be remembered for a long time from now.
If you’ll forgive me for getting a bit philosophical on you, it really, in my mind, goes back to the fact that the flag isn’t what’s sacred; it’s the ideal of freedom that it represents. So to your first point, flag burning, what does it really mean? Does desecrating the flag by dropping it on the ground, or even burning it really mean anything? Some would say “yes”. I, for one, say no. While it /does/ show disrespect for the item itself, the flag, does it really put a dent in the ideal that it represents? No. I don’t think so. People that burn flags or place them on the ground and tread on them really don’t know what they’re doing. They’re being silly and childish fools. “Freedom” goes much beyond nationality and boarders and lines drawn on maps. It is an ideal as grand as humanity itself, and it knows no boundaries of race, creed, or color. Burn the flag? So what? While they might see it as insulting the US - which it /is/ in many ways - it is still a foolish and childish act, as it means nothing. Insult the US? Fine. Go ahead. While many of us feel a very personal about such things, has it changed anything? Is the country less, now that it’s been insulted? No; I don’t think so. Is “freedom” any less of a magnificent thing? No; I don’t think so. The flag, dropped to the ground, or held aloft and burned, is just a rag, because those that do such things will never understand what it /really/ means. “Freedom” is so much more vast than a mere piece of colored fabric. “Freedom”, by virtue and by nature, /must/ allow such atrocities to happen, as that’s part of what “freedom” is. Can we truly have freedom if we cannot speak out freely against those tyrannies that would oppress the speakers? Can we truly have freedom if the very symbol of that freedom is more sacred than the freedom itself?
The answers to these questions vary from person to person. It’s all a matter of how you see “freedom”, and what it means to you, personally. Is “freedom” something that you “have”, or is it something that you “are”? I will always believe that Freedom is something that I “have”, because I have fought for it, because I have served my fellow man in guardianship of it. For those that believe in the “are” theory, I don’t believe they have never been faced with losing it, and really don’t understand what it is.
Freedom is not a birthright. It’s not something that is bestowed by virtue of nationality. Freedom is something that is possessed because it was bought and paid for with blood. It /must/ be forever nurtured and protected. It must be constantly upheld and vigilantly guarded, or it will slip away and be lost. Something that you “are” is forever, like genetics. Something that you “have” is merely a possession, which means it can be lost, or broken, or betrayed.
Perhaps, it sounds like I’m talking in circles. At one point, I speak that the flag is sacred, and in the next moment, I’m saying that it nothing but a rag. Again, it goes back to what the flag /means/. The flag in and of itself, means nothing; what it /represents/, however, is monumental. It’s not about the flag; it’s about the ideal that it symbolizes. And that’s not just true of the US flag; it’s true for any flag, of any country on this earth. To the people of those lands, it holds special meaning, and it symbolizes their ways of life, no less than ours does us and ours.
Iwo Jima... There has been entire books written on the events that surrounded those /two/ flag raisings, so I won’t pretend to speak with any kind of authority of knowledge. “Politics” can sometimes directly oppose the ideals of Freedom. In my mind, the entire reason for that second flag raising was politics. The fact that the flag was raised is a significant event in and of itself. Even there, on that island, during that turbulent time in two nation’s histories, it was still representative of an ideal. That ideal, rather than the flag itself, was what I believe all those Marines were really fighting for. But to raise it up, proudly and defiantly, in the presence of their enemy, was all the mor pointed, not for the flag, but for the ideal, that while so many countless lives were lost in that and other battles that covered the globe, it was a bold and aggressive statement to every eye that should gaze upon it, then, and forever after, that this thing called “Freedom” shall be tried, and tested, but will not fall away quietly. We will forever fight for it, and nurture and protect it, and if need be, spill our very blood for it. Whatever it takes, in our guardianship over the ideal of Freedom, we shall do, then, in the past, in the here-and-now, and into the future.
I think, that the Marines on Iwo Jima, knew what Freedom was. I think it was personal. It would be foolish for me to think that they all gave their lives willingly, but I think - I like to believe - that most of them gave their lives knowingly. Was it “just a flag”? Not at all. It was a symbol, for all the world to see and gaze upon, that said that Freedom would forever and eternally be fought and died for. Freedom would be protected, and if the blood of our own and of our peers was the price to be paid, then it /would/ be paid. There would be no cost too great or sacrifice to grand that would allow us to falter in our duty, our sacred calling, to protect that ideal of Freedom. That’s what the Marines and sailors on Iwo Jima were /really/ doing, in my humble opinion.
What is the price of Freedom? Blood. That’s almost always been the way of things. Pick your battle, pick your war, but it’s always been the same ideal that we - and other nations - have fought to protect. Some, indeed, have paid the ultimate price, but in the end, Freedom remains. Politics certainly paints an ugly blot onto the sacrifices that those peoples have paid, as it has always done and as it will always do in the future, but I don’t think that even the shame of politics can mar the glory of Freedom.
And the USS Arizona is another bitter point. You can dig through history to find out exactly what happened there and why that memorial is there to this day.
Here again, politics and other things will go to mar the memories of those events. And perhaps I am biased, as this was a Navy ship, and those sailors my brothers, but I don’t see them in any different light. Were they fighting for Freedom? Not in the most grand of senses. But their ship was their home. It was their sacred ground. Fate was against them, but I will always believe that they fought valiantly to protect their home, to keep her afloat, but in the end, it was a futile battle. Does that make their sacrifice any less meaningful? I don’t think so. To those sailors and Marines that died there, that paid the ultimate price, are they any less Warriors for Freedom than the troops that fought on Guadalcanal or Iwo Jima or Midway? I don’t think so. All had their role to play. I think that for those that watched the ARIZONA go up in a fireball, it solidified in their minds, it fortified their mighty resolve, that those friends and brothers would not have died in vain.
Today, I think that for those that truly know the price and the ideal of Freedom, that walks across the deck of that once great ship, I think it instills in them the same resolve.
I know that things are different for everyone. Maybe some can walk across that concrete slab, and look down at the rusting hulk, and not feel anything. But I do. What I felt was almost overwhelming. I shed my tears for those that rested solemnly in that watery tomb. But at the same time, I was filled with a sense of meaning and purpose. Below me, rested those of an era past, but what they fought for, and died for, was still worthy of being protected today. In the most simple of terms, that made them my brothers, and I theirs. It was a different world and a different Navy with different weapons and different ships, but the ideal and the purpose of our existence was exactly the same, spanning all the eons of time that had passed between us.
Hopefully it will remind the politicians to keep their damn fingers out of the military running and help the generals and admirals make the right decisions... instead of letting so many of our young men die.
Even here, and forevermore into the future, politics will forever run rampant. Even today, this is true, just as it was in the world wars, as it will be in the future. It is a blot on the very soul of what Freedom stands for, but it is an evil that has existed from the moment the very foundations of the societies of man were carved, and so it shall remain as long as societies shall exist.
To honor that flag... we need to protect it, not let it be run over roughshod. Burn another country's flag in a public place and see how many of them try to lynch YOU. What do we do here... "Oh! That is freedom of speech!"
BS!
Indeed, many countries hold their flags in a much different light than we do ours. To them, it is the symbol of their country. To desecrate it is to desecrate the country. An insult to it, is to insult the country, and the people of it. By the same token, many Americans feel the same about their own country’s flag. I once did, but I don’t any more. I see our flag as something that is much bigger than this nation or the people that inhabit it. Indeed, it is much, much bigger than the politicians that claim to lead it.
The flag to me, is the symbol that represents the entire ideal of Freedom. Even trod upon, or burned, it doesn’t change what it represents. It merely reminds us that there are hardships to face, and that Freedom is still something that we will have to fight for and protect, with our very blood if need be.
The claim of “Freedom of Speech”, in my experience and humble opinion (biased though it might be), is most often used by the irresponsible who don’t know or understand what Freedom is, or what it means to have it. Having the freedom to speak doesn’t automatically mean than you /should/. The mass media of this country is well known for touting that what they see as “freedom of speech”, and most often, they are the largest abusers of that very freedom. Freedom is an awesome responsibility, and like I said in my essay, it is not something that is simply a right that I possess because I am an American and the Constitution says that I do. It is a right because Freedom was bought and paid for by our fellow citizens. It is easy for the media to trod on the rights that they know nothing about, and do very little to protect.
Personally, I feel it incredibly irresponsible to attempt to hide behind the very freedom that enables them to spew their pointless vomit of gossip and nonsense, and more often than not, present things specifically in ways that will put people into an uproar. It’s not about reporting “news”; it’s about getting people into enough of a tizzy that they’ll watch, because it’s all about ratings. Because of that, the media often present half-truths in purposefully misleading ways, just because they can. The accuracy of fact is irrelevant when you can hide behind such neat ideals as “freedom of speech”. Media doesn’t /have/ to tell the truth, because that’s “freedom of speech”. They don’t /have/ to be accurate about anything, because it all about ratings, and “freedom of speech” allows it.
In the last fifty years, there has been a very large and dramatic paradigm shift in what “freedom” really is. That’s to say that the Freedoms that many folks hold as true today, are not the same ones that our forefathers, the very authors of the Constitution, held in their day. Freedom for them meant something. It was something that you fought for with vigor and diligence and guile, because it was an ideal worth fighting for, and indeed worth /dying/ for.
Today, we have politicians and media alike, that have no concept of Freedom, let alone what it stands for. To most of them, it is a shield that they can hide behind when convenient, that lets them do whatever they want, legal or not, because it suits them at the moment. I will always maintain that freedom is something that must be protected. It is /not/ a shield that enables us to do as we please, simply /because/ we are “free”. With Freedom comes awesome responsibility, and very few Americans today truly understand the burdens of that responsibility. It is /why/ the legal system in this country is the laughing stock of the world. It’s /why/ the media can do the totally irresponsible things, and no one bats and eye, and even if they do, it’s “freedom of speech”. Politicians can blatantly lie, or commit crimes that any other citizen would be locked away for a lifetime, but they’re a Senator or Congressman, so they are magically exempt from the laws. Indeed, their Freedoms, it would appear, supercede those of the “mere citizen”.
Our forefathers were brilliant men and impressive statesmen. They penned to paper a document that was truly timeless, because it could be flexible and change with the ebbs and flows of the times. But the one thing they couldn’t take into account, was that people would eventually become lazy, and stupid, and genuinely forget what this grand thing called Freedom was all about.
So, here were are today, a country founded on the very ideal of this magnificent thing called “Freedom”, and yet, only one in twenty Americans at best, even know what this grand thing really /is/. We are a culture of instant gratification, where the elected officials have license to do anything they choose while the “common man” has less rights than his neighbor’s dog. The citizens have less rights than the “illegal aliens”. The media can spew forth whatever they deem as “news”, regardless of whether it’s truth or total fabrication. All in the blessed name of “Freedom”.
Are we /really/ “free”, or is it just the illusion of “freedom”? I guess it’s all about perspective. To be “free”, you have to know, intimately, what being a “slave” is all about. Is “Freedom” a magic shield? Or is it something that requires a diligent guardian? In my view, to truly be “free”, then we submit to being its “slave”. “Freedom” does not exist for our benefit; it exists because those people before us battled and fought and died so that we might have it. Those who are not willing to die to protect it, are not worthy of having it.
Am I unjustly biased? Perhaps. But “Freedom” for me will never be something that I am simply /granted/. “Freedom” is /earned/. Have /I/ earned it? I can’t say. That’s not for me to decide. It really lies in the hands of those that have carried the weight of this flag, this burden of Freedom, on their shoulders before me. If I can look at my life, and my deeds, and can truly be measured and weighed by the standards of those that fought for Freedom before me, and I meet up, then, and /only/ then, I am worthy. If not, then it looks like I’ve got a bit more fighting to do.
“Freedom” isn’t “free”. It has a profound price tag. But I still believe in the most basic of truths: it’s worth the price that has been paid, and it will forever be worth fighting for, even for the stupid masses that don’t know what it’s all about. That’s just part of the price that’s been paid.
Most Sincerely and Respectfully Submitted,
ShastaCat
It took me a while to actually respond to the reply, but I felt it appropriate to post it here (with permission of course), just in case folks might like to read what I wrote. So without further ado...
The Reply:
I am in no way intending to disgrace you or your writings...
"It's a grand ole flag and it's nothin but a rag."
To back that statement up... lemme ask you this question...
How many flags are manufactured everyday in another country and sold here in the United States?
Why do we allow fools and your "Free" people to take that flag and desecrate it by dropping it on the ground, spitting on it or allowing them to burn it.
Were that flag more than "just a rag," we'd shoot every S.O.B. that treated the symbol of this once great nation with such disrespect.
What about Iwo Jima? How many boys were killed pulling off that "patriotic" and "morale boosting" stunt?
Yes, we honor those boys and remember that they were doing something grand. Stupid, but grand and it will be remembered for a long time from now.
And the USS Arizona is another bitter point. You can dig through history to find out exactly what happened there and why that memorial is there to this day.
Hopefully it will remind the politicians to keep their damn fingers out of the military running and help the generals and admirals make the right decisions... instead of letting so many of our young men die.
To honor that flag... we need to protect it, not let it be run over roughshod. Burn another country's flag in a public place and see how many of them try to lynch YOU. What do we do here... "Oh! That is freedom of speech!"
BS!
Response to Reply: 02Oct07
Sir (someone, left blank for a bit of anonymity):
I had intended on responding to this long ago, but in the end, I never did. I’m sorry for that. Now that I’m back out here, doing what I do, it’s time that I make up for that, and put some time into a proper response.
You bring up many points, and in truth, most of them are right on. I can’t dispute them. All I can really do is speak to the facts that I know, and what I hold dear.
Forgive me that I’m going to run down your remarks, essentially line by line in response, as I don’t want to miss any points.
I am in no way intending to disgrace you or your writings...
No insult is taken at all. Again, you have brought up some very pointed but good remarks.
"It's a grand ole flag and it's nothin but a rag."
The flag, while just a “rag” and fabric, is more representative of an ideal. While everyone sees something different when they look at their country’s flag, when I look at the US flag, I see “freedom”. I see the ideals of being able to live your life as full as your dreams and means will allow. I see the right to speak your mind, constructively and creatively, to better society. I’ll speak more to this in a moment, as Free Speech isn’t nearly as grand as the media feels it is.
So what I’m really saying here is that the flag is nothing but a symbol for something much grander, at least, in my opinion. Others, of course, see things differently.
To back that statement up... lemme ask you this question...
How many flags are manufactured everyday in another country and sold here in the United States?
From my understanding, out of all the US flags manufactured, 90% of them are made on foreign soil. To me, this is tantamount to sacrilege, as it simply represents that the flag is not sacred, but a mere bauble to be bought and sold as a commodity, made by the cheapest bidder, and sold at the greatest profit for those who desire to have one.
Even the words “Made in the USA” are a fallacy, because the lawmakers have decided, in their infinite wisdom, that “made” doesn’t have to mean “manufactured”. Now, according to those new laws, “made”, and mean that something as insignificant as a single label can be sewn in, in the US, and then it’s “legal” to claim that the whole thing was “Made in the USA” because technically, the /label/ was indeed made in the USA. To me, “Made in the USA” still means “Made in the USA”, as in 100% of whatever product, was made on US soil, in US factories, by US citizens’ hands. But again, other people see things differently.
Why do we allow fools and your "Free" people to take that flag and desecrate it by dropping it on the ground, spitting on it or allowing them to burn it.
Were that flag more than "just a rag," we'd shoot every S.O.B. that treated the symbol of this once great nation with such disrespect.
What about Iwo Jima? How many boys were killed pulling off that "patriotic" and "morale boosting" stunt?
Yes, we honor those boys and remember that they were doing something grand. Stupid, but grand and it will be remembered for a long time from now.
If you’ll forgive me for getting a bit philosophical on you, it really, in my mind, goes back to the fact that the flag isn’t what’s sacred; it’s the ideal of freedom that it represents. So to your first point, flag burning, what does it really mean? Does desecrating the flag by dropping it on the ground, or even burning it really mean anything? Some would say “yes”. I, for one, say no. While it /does/ show disrespect for the item itself, the flag, does it really put a dent in the ideal that it represents? No. I don’t think so. People that burn flags or place them on the ground and tread on them really don’t know what they’re doing. They’re being silly and childish fools. “Freedom” goes much beyond nationality and boarders and lines drawn on maps. It is an ideal as grand as humanity itself, and it knows no boundaries of race, creed, or color. Burn the flag? So what? While they might see it as insulting the US - which it /is/ in many ways - it is still a foolish and childish act, as it means nothing. Insult the US? Fine. Go ahead. While many of us feel a very personal about such things, has it changed anything? Is the country less, now that it’s been insulted? No; I don’t think so. Is “freedom” any less of a magnificent thing? No; I don’t think so. The flag, dropped to the ground, or held aloft and burned, is just a rag, because those that do such things will never understand what it /really/ means. “Freedom” is so much more vast than a mere piece of colored fabric. “Freedom”, by virtue and by nature, /must/ allow such atrocities to happen, as that’s part of what “freedom” is. Can we truly have freedom if we cannot speak out freely against those tyrannies that would oppress the speakers? Can we truly have freedom if the very symbol of that freedom is more sacred than the freedom itself?
The answers to these questions vary from person to person. It’s all a matter of how you see “freedom”, and what it means to you, personally. Is “freedom” something that you “have”, or is it something that you “are”? I will always believe that Freedom is something that I “have”, because I have fought for it, because I have served my fellow man in guardianship of it. For those that believe in the “are” theory, I don’t believe they have never been faced with losing it, and really don’t understand what it is.
Freedom is not a birthright. It’s not something that is bestowed by virtue of nationality. Freedom is something that is possessed because it was bought and paid for with blood. It /must/ be forever nurtured and protected. It must be constantly upheld and vigilantly guarded, or it will slip away and be lost. Something that you “are” is forever, like genetics. Something that you “have” is merely a possession, which means it can be lost, or broken, or betrayed.
Perhaps, it sounds like I’m talking in circles. At one point, I speak that the flag is sacred, and in the next moment, I’m saying that it nothing but a rag. Again, it goes back to what the flag /means/. The flag in and of itself, means nothing; what it /represents/, however, is monumental. It’s not about the flag; it’s about the ideal that it symbolizes. And that’s not just true of the US flag; it’s true for any flag, of any country on this earth. To the people of those lands, it holds special meaning, and it symbolizes their ways of life, no less than ours does us and ours.
Iwo Jima... There has been entire books written on the events that surrounded those /two/ flag raisings, so I won’t pretend to speak with any kind of authority of knowledge. “Politics” can sometimes directly oppose the ideals of Freedom. In my mind, the entire reason for that second flag raising was politics. The fact that the flag was raised is a significant event in and of itself. Even there, on that island, during that turbulent time in two nation’s histories, it was still representative of an ideal. That ideal, rather than the flag itself, was what I believe all those Marines were really fighting for. But to raise it up, proudly and defiantly, in the presence of their enemy, was all the mor pointed, not for the flag, but for the ideal, that while so many countless lives were lost in that and other battles that covered the globe, it was a bold and aggressive statement to every eye that should gaze upon it, then, and forever after, that this thing called “Freedom” shall be tried, and tested, but will not fall away quietly. We will forever fight for it, and nurture and protect it, and if need be, spill our very blood for it. Whatever it takes, in our guardianship over the ideal of Freedom, we shall do, then, in the past, in the here-and-now, and into the future.
I think, that the Marines on Iwo Jima, knew what Freedom was. I think it was personal. It would be foolish for me to think that they all gave their lives willingly, but I think - I like to believe - that most of them gave their lives knowingly. Was it “just a flag”? Not at all. It was a symbol, for all the world to see and gaze upon, that said that Freedom would forever and eternally be fought and died for. Freedom would be protected, and if the blood of our own and of our peers was the price to be paid, then it /would/ be paid. There would be no cost too great or sacrifice to grand that would allow us to falter in our duty, our sacred calling, to protect that ideal of Freedom. That’s what the Marines and sailors on Iwo Jima were /really/ doing, in my humble opinion.
What is the price of Freedom? Blood. That’s almost always been the way of things. Pick your battle, pick your war, but it’s always been the same ideal that we - and other nations - have fought to protect. Some, indeed, have paid the ultimate price, but in the end, Freedom remains. Politics certainly paints an ugly blot onto the sacrifices that those peoples have paid, as it has always done and as it will always do in the future, but I don’t think that even the shame of politics can mar the glory of Freedom.
And the USS Arizona is another bitter point. You can dig through history to find out exactly what happened there and why that memorial is there to this day.
Here again, politics and other things will go to mar the memories of those events. And perhaps I am biased, as this was a Navy ship, and those sailors my brothers, but I don’t see them in any different light. Were they fighting for Freedom? Not in the most grand of senses. But their ship was their home. It was their sacred ground. Fate was against them, but I will always believe that they fought valiantly to protect their home, to keep her afloat, but in the end, it was a futile battle. Does that make their sacrifice any less meaningful? I don’t think so. To those sailors and Marines that died there, that paid the ultimate price, are they any less Warriors for Freedom than the troops that fought on Guadalcanal or Iwo Jima or Midway? I don’t think so. All had their role to play. I think that for those that watched the ARIZONA go up in a fireball, it solidified in their minds, it fortified their mighty resolve, that those friends and brothers would not have died in vain.
Today, I think that for those that truly know the price and the ideal of Freedom, that walks across the deck of that once great ship, I think it instills in them the same resolve.
I know that things are different for everyone. Maybe some can walk across that concrete slab, and look down at the rusting hulk, and not feel anything. But I do. What I felt was almost overwhelming. I shed my tears for those that rested solemnly in that watery tomb. But at the same time, I was filled with a sense of meaning and purpose. Below me, rested those of an era past, but what they fought for, and died for, was still worthy of being protected today. In the most simple of terms, that made them my brothers, and I theirs. It was a different world and a different Navy with different weapons and different ships, but the ideal and the purpose of our existence was exactly the same, spanning all the eons of time that had passed between us.
Hopefully it will remind the politicians to keep their damn fingers out of the military running and help the generals and admirals make the right decisions... instead of letting so many of our young men die.
Even here, and forevermore into the future, politics will forever run rampant. Even today, this is true, just as it was in the world wars, as it will be in the future. It is a blot on the very soul of what Freedom stands for, but it is an evil that has existed from the moment the very foundations of the societies of man were carved, and so it shall remain as long as societies shall exist.
To honor that flag... we need to protect it, not let it be run over roughshod. Burn another country's flag in a public place and see how many of them try to lynch YOU. What do we do here... "Oh! That is freedom of speech!"
BS!
Indeed, many countries hold their flags in a much different light than we do ours. To them, it is the symbol of their country. To desecrate it is to desecrate the country. An insult to it, is to insult the country, and the people of it. By the same token, many Americans feel the same about their own country’s flag. I once did, but I don’t any more. I see our flag as something that is much bigger than this nation or the people that inhabit it. Indeed, it is much, much bigger than the politicians that claim to lead it.
The flag to me, is the symbol that represents the entire ideal of Freedom. Even trod upon, or burned, it doesn’t change what it represents. It merely reminds us that there are hardships to face, and that Freedom is still something that we will have to fight for and protect, with our very blood if need be.
The claim of “Freedom of Speech”, in my experience and humble opinion (biased though it might be), is most often used by the irresponsible who don’t know or understand what Freedom is, or what it means to have it. Having the freedom to speak doesn’t automatically mean than you /should/. The mass media of this country is well known for touting that what they see as “freedom of speech”, and most often, they are the largest abusers of that very freedom. Freedom is an awesome responsibility, and like I said in my essay, it is not something that is simply a right that I possess because I am an American and the Constitution says that I do. It is a right because Freedom was bought and paid for by our fellow citizens. It is easy for the media to trod on the rights that they know nothing about, and do very little to protect.
Personally, I feel it incredibly irresponsible to attempt to hide behind the very freedom that enables them to spew their pointless vomit of gossip and nonsense, and more often than not, present things specifically in ways that will put people into an uproar. It’s not about reporting “news”; it’s about getting people into enough of a tizzy that they’ll watch, because it’s all about ratings. Because of that, the media often present half-truths in purposefully misleading ways, just because they can. The accuracy of fact is irrelevant when you can hide behind such neat ideals as “freedom of speech”. Media doesn’t /have/ to tell the truth, because that’s “freedom of speech”. They don’t /have/ to be accurate about anything, because it all about ratings, and “freedom of speech” allows it.
In the last fifty years, there has been a very large and dramatic paradigm shift in what “freedom” really is. That’s to say that the Freedoms that many folks hold as true today, are not the same ones that our forefathers, the very authors of the Constitution, held in their day. Freedom for them meant something. It was something that you fought for with vigor and diligence and guile, because it was an ideal worth fighting for, and indeed worth /dying/ for.
Today, we have politicians and media alike, that have no concept of Freedom, let alone what it stands for. To most of them, it is a shield that they can hide behind when convenient, that lets them do whatever they want, legal or not, because it suits them at the moment. I will always maintain that freedom is something that must be protected. It is /not/ a shield that enables us to do as we please, simply /because/ we are “free”. With Freedom comes awesome responsibility, and very few Americans today truly understand the burdens of that responsibility. It is /why/ the legal system in this country is the laughing stock of the world. It’s /why/ the media can do the totally irresponsible things, and no one bats and eye, and even if they do, it’s “freedom of speech”. Politicians can blatantly lie, or commit crimes that any other citizen would be locked away for a lifetime, but they’re a Senator or Congressman, so they are magically exempt from the laws. Indeed, their Freedoms, it would appear, supercede those of the “mere citizen”.
Our forefathers were brilliant men and impressive statesmen. They penned to paper a document that was truly timeless, because it could be flexible and change with the ebbs and flows of the times. But the one thing they couldn’t take into account, was that people would eventually become lazy, and stupid, and genuinely forget what this grand thing called Freedom was all about.
So, here were are today, a country founded on the very ideal of this magnificent thing called “Freedom”, and yet, only one in twenty Americans at best, even know what this grand thing really /is/. We are a culture of instant gratification, where the elected officials have license to do anything they choose while the “common man” has less rights than his neighbor’s dog. The citizens have less rights than the “illegal aliens”. The media can spew forth whatever they deem as “news”, regardless of whether it’s truth or total fabrication. All in the blessed name of “Freedom”.
Are we /really/ “free”, or is it just the illusion of “freedom”? I guess it’s all about perspective. To be “free”, you have to know, intimately, what being a “slave” is all about. Is “Freedom” a magic shield? Or is it something that requires a diligent guardian? In my view, to truly be “free”, then we submit to being its “slave”. “Freedom” does not exist for our benefit; it exists because those people before us battled and fought and died so that we might have it. Those who are not willing to die to protect it, are not worthy of having it.
Am I unjustly biased? Perhaps. But “Freedom” for me will never be something that I am simply /granted/. “Freedom” is /earned/. Have /I/ earned it? I can’t say. That’s not for me to decide. It really lies in the hands of those that have carried the weight of this flag, this burden of Freedom, on their shoulders before me. If I can look at my life, and my deeds, and can truly be measured and weighed by the standards of those that fought for Freedom before me, and I meet up, then, and /only/ then, I am worthy. If not, then it looks like I’ve got a bit more fighting to do.
“Freedom” isn’t “free”. It has a profound price tag. But I still believe in the most basic of truths: it’s worth the price that has been paid, and it will forever be worth fighting for, even for the stupid masses that don’t know what it’s all about. That’s just part of the price that’s been paid.
Most Sincerely and Respectfully Submitted,
ShastaCat
The sad truth, is "not very many". I think it's one of the largest reason that makes this once great nation not so great anymore. Any nation that "forgets" (or purposefully denies) the principles on which it was founded is destined for demise.
In any case, I hope that my essay, and the discussion that followed moved you.
(Shasta snaps up a perfect salute) Thank you for serving!
The leaders of our nations have forgotten what it is like to truly serve. They are more interested in power and the riches that they can amass as the expense of those they are /supposed/ to be serving. They have also chosen to forget the very principles on which this country was founded.
I find so many of today's politicians to be lacking, and others to be downright offensive in their actions. I would like to see people holding office that are truly meet up to the title of "statesman". There are /none/ today that measure up.
I don't really have and answer for you, at least not one that's realistic or achievable. We're ir up to me, I'd fire /all/ the politicians, and start over. We /need/ people in office that have fundamental values, such as honor and integrity, just to name two.
But, in the meantime, I guess we're stuck with who we've got. :(
Whilst I have not served and am merely the friend of many who have, I must say that from my ignorant viewpoint, I agree wholeheartedly with your words. You said to Skyedancer above that you hoped your words moved him. I will state without hesitation that they brought me, a mere onlooker, to tears of both joy, pride, and sadness at the points raised.
To you and to Skyedancer, please let this humble one extend to you and those who have served this country of mine a hearty, glad thanks for your presence out there, and a thanks for upholding the ideals that many of us have not the ability, the understanding, or sometimes the courage to do so. Thank you so very much, from the deepest part of my heart.
Proudly yours,
Mika Kyubi
Kitsune-at-Large
It was my honor to serve.
While i do not wear a uniform today, between the 8 uniformed, and the 6 more in civilian attire, these past now 14-years have indeed been the privilege of my life to have been a part of the upholding of such profound ideals.
Thank you for sharing that it was moving; it helps me to know that I indeed was able to capture a small piece of what I intended, which makes any writer's heart soar.
And from my own heart, you are very welcome. From a "warrior"'s perspective, there is no duty so profound as to protect those which we are in the service of. Without the people to protect (and to serve), we then would have no place, and no function, and become obsolete and useless. Thank you for your kind words, and most certainly for you thoughts for those that have in the past served, and for those that now serve in our stead.
With Much Respect and Gratitude,
ShastaCat
To paraphrase Shakespeare, "The fault is not in our politicians, dear ShastaCat, but in those who choose those politicians." If the citizenry no longer believe in freedom, but want "security" in its place, then where would you expect a reverence for freedom's symbol, the flag, to come from?
It /is/ truth that the people elect and re-elect the politicians. But it is also true that of all the people /eligible/ to vote, only about 38% (statistically speaking) actually choose to take advantage of this right and cast their votes. I think it would be best if /all/ eligible people would vote, but I'm not sure /this/ ideal would be realistic or achievable either. Would this solve the problem? No. Probably not. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". So, perhaps we are indeed "stuck" with what we've got. I, personally, would wish for persons of honesty and integrity to be the ones to serve as our governments' leaders, but that might be an entirely idealistic perspective, which is arguably also /not/ achievable.
Regarding security versus freedom, I think there are three, different arguments that could be posed: A) that they are one and the same or at the very least go hand-in-hand, or B) that they are mutually exclusive and that one must be sacrificed for the other, or C) that they are two, independent ideals that can and should be fought for separately, that can profoundly compliment each other, but nonetheless, /are/ independent, so can be achieved one, or the other, or both together, depending on how much energy and effort is put into their achievement.
I feel that "C" is the most realistic, which is to say, "C" embodies the truths in which I believe. Freedom is something worth fighting for, and worth dying for. But so is "security". As a former service member, I think that there's a lot of credence to the fact that while trying to preserve Freedom, I and my brothers and sisters in uniform (not just of the US, but of /all/ nations that serve their respective ideals) are also trying to provide an environment where people can feel safe. Is this "security" in it's most ideal form? No. Can the people in uniform guarantee our security? Unfortunately, no. In truth, nor can they guarantee that Freedom will remain unscathed either.
I guess that in all my idealistic views, I will simply have to be happy with the /attempt/ at the achievement of both these important and fundamental ideals. I am proud to have served and done my part, and I can only hope that I served my country and its people well. They are, as they always were, my judge and jury to my taskings in that duty.
Thank you sincerely for your comments, and I wish you and yours a very happy New Year, and blessings for the future.
Respectfully Submitted,
ShastaCat
This argument is so hopelessly self-defeating that I can only shake my head in dismay. For one thing, it should be obvious that you can't uphold a symbol of freedom by removing people's freedom to harm the symbol. And for another thing: once you start down that road, where the heck do you stop?
If liberty is to mean anything, it must include the liberty to surrender your own liberty. Otherwise it's a silly constrained mockery of liberty -- Liberty Lite, a gilded cage for sheep. A nation with a flag of freedom has got to allow people to burn that flag. Otherwise the flag becomes a mockery of itself.
The weapon is against flag-burners is not the law, or raised voices, or force of arms, or the lynch mob that your correspondent so charmingly hints at. It's understanding and education. It's a pervasive understanding, shared by all, of what that flag means. It's critical thinking in schools, and a weather eye on current affairs, and a historical understanding of how easily liberty is lost. It's a million people who are never seen and only quietly heard: every history teacher who places fascism in a modern context, every mother or father explaining a war memorial to a suddenly-sober child, every big brother who leads by example.
You've written about the Free (whom I think you underestimate, by the way) and about the Defenders of the Free. You should also put in a word for those who build the foundations of freedom by spreading the understanding of what it is and why it's important. After all, you're one of them.
I very much appreciate your comments. I tend to agree with the points you've made here.
Thank you humbley, as well, for your ending compliment; I would have solemn pride indeed, to know that I have perhaps shed some light on the "meaning of freedom" by my words here, and responding to others' comments.
Most Sincerely,
ShastaCat
Flag burners don't care, and are usually ignorant, about the symbolism of the flag; so I don't think we should further punish people for their stupidity. Peer pressure should be more than enough for most. Besides, the people that get pissed off the most are the service people who would be coming to settle the account anyways. I don't think that adding a fine would make things any better.
I have participated/lead several flag retirement ceremonies and it is always easy to find the people who understand the symbolism. They are the ones with their backs rigid, tears in theirs eyes, or exhibiting stolid determination. Those are the ones who act as a far greater deterrent to flag burning than any law. They understand that the action itself isn't what counts (since the flags are burned) rather it is the respect and deference paid to the symbolism of the flag that is important. If you, or anybody else you know, hasn't been to a well done flag retirement ceremony I would HIGHLY recommend going to see one.
To me, it is a very profoundly solemn duty just doing \"colors\", which of course, my time for doing has passed. I now leave that to those that defend the flag in my stead. Nonetheless, I find it very difficult indeed to gaze upon the flag and /not/ feel quite profound emotion.
Thank you for sharing your perspective and your story about the Flag Retirements. It sounds a solemn duty indeed!
Most Sincerely,
ShastaCat
I've done this for hundreds of people from young children, to veterans, to foreign exchange students, to adults, and I have seen just about every type of reaction possible; I have yet to see one that is wrong. Crying is a given, shaking and sobbing is expected of some, awe and excitement is appreciated, but everybody (including the participants) is visibly effected in one way or another. So any profound emotions you might feel would certainly be echoed by others present.
Ask a local Boy Scout troop, council, or summer camp when they are having their next ceremony; I'm sure they'd love to have a veteran present. You have done your part, this is one of the ways that the next generation can show it's appreciation for your efforts. The duty may be solemn, but it is also inspiring and uplifting! Once again I highly recommend attending one, if only so that those present can see how much the ceremony means to you.