Your First Amendment at work
A shipmate of mine posted a photo meme from the “Right Wing News” Facebook page. It reads “Cancel the welfare checks of anyone who burns the U.S. flag. Share if you agree.”
This kind of asinine, knee-jerk, robot patriotism drives me nuts. Many mornings and evenings I have raised and lowered the American flag (we called it “colors”) on my ship while I served in the U.S. Navy. Out of all the tasks I had to perform whenever I stuck on the ship on duty, being color guard was my favorite. I considered it the deepest honor to smartly raise our nation’s symbol above my ship those mornings and to lower it and fold it solemnly at dusk.
I also maintained a keen appreciation for the freedom it symbolizes. I loved that one of the rights granted me by the Constitution was my ability to burn it. I still love that right as the freedom itself is exponentially more important than the symbol of that freedom. Some people miss this important distinction, especially those who’ll share a provocative photo without taking two seconds to ponder its meaning.
This is what burns me up (no pun intended). America needs to grow the hell up. Our grand republic is not going to crumble whenever some yahoo torches a flag. Quite the contrary, it makes us stronger. We either exercise our rights or we will lose them. The First Amendment is one that deserves the most exercise, even if the speech is controversial. As Noam Chomsky pointed out, “if you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don’t like.” You may not agree when someone burns a flag but if you don’t support someone’s right to burn it then you’re not really clear on the concept of the First Amendment. You see, the First Amendment not only protects your freedom of speech, it also protects your right to be offended. If something offends you then you know it’s doing its job.
I feel the same way about Westboro Baptist Church’s protests. They may be douchebags but their right to express themselves as douchebags is the same right that lets me express myself as I see fit. If I undermine their right I undermine my own. See how it works?
I’d love to see us becoming a little more tolerant of differences and of others exercising the rights we have instead of crying like little babies at every offense or else the terrorists win. The terrorists know that all they have to do is burn something that resembles the American flag and we quiver like Jello. We make it so easy for them!
And by the way, my feelings also extend to the brouhaha around the Confederate (battle) flag, but only partly. The battle flag flying over the S.C. state house grounds is the de-facto condoning of its racist history by S.C. government. The same flag flying over Confederate graves is perfectly appropriate. It’s ideals belong in a cemetery, so why not? Beyond that, people should be free to use the Confederate flag however they wish, providing they understand the stigma it may bring.
That’s another thing about the First Amendment – it protects the right for racist, ignorant people to let everyone know they’re racist, ignorant people. And you know what? That’s fine with me. It’s good to know what you’re dealing with, right up front.
Some on the right have had fun sneering at those expressing offense at the Confederate flag, with remarks like “I’m so sick of everyone being offended.” Yet some become loudly offended if the particular flag is an American one in flames. I find this kind of selective outrage amusing.
The second thing that sticks in my craw about this particular photo is the assumption that only “freeloaders” accept welfare. Did you know that a survey by Feeding America shows that 25% percent of active and reserve military families accept food support?
“Yetter’s family is among the 620,000 households that include at least one soldier, reservist or guardsman – or 25 percent of the nation’s total active duty and reserve personnel – that are seeking aid from food pantries and other charitable programs across the country, according to a rare inquiry about the food insecurity of troops and veterans conducted by Feeding America, a hunger relief charity.”
I think this is an absolute travesty. Our military families sacrifice at extraordinary levels to serve our Country, and many need help putting food on the table. Our military gets 24% of our Federal tax dollars and yet 25% of our troops can’t make ends meet. If there’s anything more patriotic than this kind of sacrifice I don’t know what it is. It’s a damn shame.
So to recap, outrage over burning the flag completely misses the point of freedom and the myth of the unpatriotic welfare recipient has been busted. Can we please start applying a little thought now to things before blindly forwarding them? Please?