You know what bugs me? These pickup trucks that ride around with American Flags flying in their exhaust fumes. There was a time when the flag was honored by all. No doubt what it signified. That's changed, mainly due to Donald Trump and what he stands for. A lot of men and women died for that flag, and to see it riding on the back of a pickup, often tattered, and knowing that it supports an ogre like Trump: That irritates me to no end. It highlights the polarities that we must now endure.
As a youngster, in class, we used to "Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." I was proud to recite that pledge and proud of my country. But now, there are two opposing camps that regard the flag in polar opposite ways.
The flag needs to be treated with respect and reverence. It needs to be hoisted and taken down daily. It needs to be folded correctly. It needs to be properly discarded--ideally burned with honors--when tattered and replaced with a new one.
I have visited a small workshop in Sonoma County, California where the flag is produced by disabled workers who take great pride in the work they do. Each performs a specific task--a vital part that results in the whole product. Most have worked at this job for years. As a vocational counselor, I used to refer folks to that company and I can tell you, their hiring criteria were rigorous, requiring me to attend a meeting where I made the case for my client and introduced him or her to the hiring committee.
Making American flags is no ordinary job. That company was extremely careful who they hired. That's North Bay Industries in Rohnert Park, California. And, by the way, their flags are purchased by the armed services for military funerals to drape the coffins of fallen heroes, a far cry from the way the insurrectionists used them at the Capitol on 1/6/21 or these clowns on their cars or pickups, now eight months after the fairest election in our nation's history.
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Announcing the launch of my new book, The Valley Spirit: Living a Tao-inspired Life with a foreword by Al Huang, now available at https://tinyurl.com/jvb795cs.
Completely agree. Another thing I don't understand are why some people fly their flags from their houses daily? My father, an ex-Marine, taught me to only put the flag out on National Holidays, or some extraordinary event for supporting the country like 911 or the death of a President. Flying the flag every day is just tacky and, to my mind, jingoistic. Which is to your point.