Thursday, July 07, 2005

Borne on the 4th of July

Irongall writes here about "flag ambivalence." I know just what she means: I like to fly the flag, and I am proud of my nationality. But just as certain members of the political right are attempting to hijack Christianity to mean things that Christ never stood for, some are using the flag to cloak actions I can't as an American support: say, oh, for example, war under false pretences, or the so-called Patriot Act (there's another example of right-wing newspeak). Flying the flag used to mean you stood for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but now for some it seems to mean "my fascist president, right or wrong (but definitely not left)."

Boring Diatribe has a lovely bit from Bill Moyers about reclaiming the flag.

Moreover, after 9/11, flags became so ubiquitous that they were no longer treated as anything special. Witness the number of ragged, tattered shreds of flag you see clinging to car antennas. Or flags left out in all weather until they are faded almost colorless. (Those colors don't run, but they apparently bleach.) The rules for the proper display of the U.S. flag are widely ignored--even by the government, as the FAQ on the flag code page notes:
Isn't the American flag stamp in violation of the flag rules? This question has been asked by dozens of visitors to this page. The answer appears to be yes. Section 8e. (see below) reads, "The flag should never be ... used ... in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way." Section 8g. reads, "The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark ... of any nature." 8i. reads, "[The flag] should not be printed or otherwise impressed on ... anything that is designed for temporary use and discard."
Under Flag Code Violations in the News, the page shows a picture of President Bush autographing a flag, in violation of section 8.g. of the Flag Code:
The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
So, looks like the flag has become no more than a trendy souvenir item à la Hello Kitty. Hello Betsy.

Treating the flag respectfully is apparently too complicated. Like "The Star-Spangled Banner" is too hard. (Yes, true, it's not easy to sing, and it's very difficult for the average person to sing it well.) Hence, it is now "performed" at baseball games--you're not supposed to sing along with your own national anthem! Instead, "God Bless America" seems to be our new national anthem--I've been chided for not standing and removing my cap during its singing. "It's not the national anthem" is apparently not an acceptable response. Sad thing is, I used to like the song. Now that it's become some kind of loyalty oath, I find it hard to take. (And I still sing along with "The Star-Spangled Banner" at ball games, despite my longstanding reservations about having our national song be about war. [sigh] Apropos, it turns out, huh?)

Some years ago there was a movement to replace "The Star-Spangled Banner" with "America the Beautiful" as our national anthem: the melody is more singable, and the lyrics, by poet Katharine Lee Bates, describe many things to value in our nation. Our friend Irongall picked out a particularly pertinent verse:
America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

Yes, I think that would make a very nice national anthem.

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