Of Flags and Patriots

I have noticed, over the past several years, an increase in the number of people displaying an American Flag, be it on their vehicle, house, or even clothing. Certainly, this is not a bad thing at all; we do live in the greatest country on earth, and there is nothing wrong with being proud of one’s country.

When I watched the insurrection on January 6^th, I noted several American Flags. This caused me to thing about the flag, and its meaning and position in events such as this.

The act of waving a flag does not make you a patriot, nor does it make your cause just. When you commit a crime, waving a flag does not make it any less of a crime, nor does it protect you from responsibility for your actions. When you physically assault someone with a pole, having a flag attached to it does not make it legal.

If you are displaying the flag as a symbol of your loyalty “. . . to the Republic for which it stands . . .”, then you should also be mindful of the duty of America’s citizens to be obedient to her Laws and Regulations.

We, as citizens of the United States of America, enjoy certain freedoms which are the envy of the world. We have freedom of the press, and we have the right of peaceful assembly. The right of peaceful assembly does not, by any stretch of the imagination, include the right to violently storm the Capitol whilst shouting “Hang Mike Pence,” regardless of the oration you just heard.

It is exceedingly difficult, nay, impossible for me to understand the word “patriot” being commandeered by people who want to invalidate the very action which defines our democracy-voting.

Using force to attempt to alter the outcome of a free and fair election is not patriotism. Rather, I see it as a sign of cowardice, a desperate act undertaken by individuals who will not accept this single, basic concept-the majority of Americans who voted did not want President Trump to have a second term.    

Calling yourself a patriot and carrying an American Flag while participating in armed insurrection does not change the facts: you are not a patriot saving America, you are a criminal and should be treated as such.

 

Thank you for reading; your comments are appreciated.

 

R. M. “Bob” Hartman

A Very Strange New Year

The events of the first 13 days of 2021 have been, to say the least, difficult. It is incredible to me that one man, however talented, could rile so many people to a state of open rebellion against the United States of America, and then deny he was responsible for the outrageous attacks on the very bastion of our democratic republic. Where was Donald Trump when his various schools taught civics, the rule of law, and personal responsibility? 

I believe this quote is credited to Tip O’Neill, Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987. “Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not to his own facts.” Even if I am incorrect, and it was not Speaker O’Neill, it is a quote well suited to this time in history. President Trump lost his bid for re-election. A more elegant and graceful gentleman, and there have been many presidents who were, would have simply and graciously accepted the vote of the American People, and prepared for his successor to take on the mantle of President of The United States of America.

 President Trump, however, has taken on the role of a spoiled, querulous child and maintained that he won the election, going to far as to file sixty-odd lawsuits challenging the validity of the election. None of those suits stood the test of court scrutiny. He has stirred rumors, cast dispersions on the character of other elected officials, and called upon his supporters to attempt an overthrow of our legal election of a new president. In doing so, he was aided and abetted by members of both the House and Senate, who insisted on challenging the results in states other than their own, even after they had been forced to shelter during an attack upon, incursion into, and riot in our nation’s Capital building.

It is troublesome to see and hear so many people fall under the spell of a megalomaniac; who take as gospel his words, even when the words are devoid of facts; to see our country reach such depths of distrust and division that it will take years to recover our sense of balance and our position in the world.    

As I watched the events unfold on January 6^th, I remarked to my wife, “My God, we have become a banana republic.”  The irony of American politicians, who in the past have called out elections and transfers of power in other countries was not lost on me.

Democracy is not self-sustaining; it requires hard work and constant attention. Our founding fathers recognized this fact; it is the preamble to the Constitution of the United States. I leave you with this quote:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

 

Thanks for reading; your comments, as always, are welcome.

R. M. “Bob” Hartman