I was a bit busy yesterday so this post comes one day late. My fallen comrades will forgive me, I'm sure.
This is our generation's JFK. I was driving to work when I heard the news on the radio, and at first I didn't believe it. I honestly thought it was like an Orson Wells-type broadcast. Ha ha. Except it wasn't. And then I turned around and went back home to all my friends at school, joining them as their disbelief was slapped in the face with live, incontrevertable video proof of what was happening.
Jesus, what was happening?
Not long after that, everyone became a patriot. And not long after that, the American capitalistic machine geared up to feed the new addiction - flags. Everywhere...EVERYWHERE...there were American flags. At first it was a sincere display of grief, pride, honor, and identity. Then it became commercial, like Christmas in October but worse, and the symbol was largely bastardized for a time. Some of these folks might as well have printed the stars in a dollar sign and slapped me in the face with it.
I can handle someone burning the flag. While I may disagree with the display, I served my country for your right to raise it or burn it as you choose. Just don't fuck with what my flag and yours represents - freedom, not dollars.
Next time you see an American flag, just take a moment...just a moment...and apreciate the simple fact that you have the freedom and ability to stand there and support it, speak out against it, or attempt to change it as you see fit. And also apreciate the folks, past and present that have served our country to further those causes.
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I remember walking in a Wal-mart with my (then) g/f and seeing the aisle with flags. One of the packages was open and the flag was bunched up on the bottom shelf. Someone must have decided to open the package, pull out the flag, then decided that didn't want it.
Rarely would I care about any other product, but I felt it was necessary to pick up the flag, fold it (probably not to code) and return it to its packaging. I really didn't think much of it, but my g/f mentioned the "significance" afterwards.
It's like my mom said during that time. "How come all these people need to buy their flags NOW?" Which is true. We've had a least 2 flags at my house for as long as I can remember (more than 5 years).
- Enrique
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