It’s amazing to me the level of butthurt that happens whenever someone doesn’t stand during the national anthem, doesn’t feel the need to put their hand over their heart during the pledge, or uses the flag as a form of protest.
Usually someone making a statement has a real beef, such as religious freedom being trampled on, freedom to not be religious being trampled on, or maybe someone is protesting that state officials are killing civilians of color disproportionately to the crime (or lack thereof) in question. Let’s say you’re protesting the fact that it says in the constitutions of several states that you have to be a monotheist to hold office. It’s not enforceable, but it’s still a fucking insult. That’s on the small end of things. Or let’s say you’re protesting racially biased drug enforcement policies, or police brutality. That’s on the more severe end of things.
In all of those cases, the problem is a bigger deal than the flag/pledge/anthem.
Here’s something you may not be aware of about the flag: It’s not a person. It has no feelings. It’s a symbol. You can wave it, sneeze on it, set it on fire, or simply not give a shit if someone else waves it, and the flag will have the same reaction- no reaction. The flag doesn’t care.
The pledge, FYI, is meaningless. It’s words spoken by the same people who then turn around and sell state secrets to the Chinese. It doesn’t stop someone from being a traitor. It’s not an oath that binds anyone from doing anything. It’s also pretty much only spoken by children in compulsory fashion, and they don’t even know what all the words mean.
The national anthem is a song about our country that we liked enough to call it our state song. It has all the meaning of our national sport. There’s a good portion of us who really couldn’t give a flying fuck about baseball. I’m glad you enjoy it. I don’t have to go, and I don’t. The national anthem has the same level of who gives a shit. You can sing it or not sing it, it doesn’t mean you hate the country if you don’t. You’ve only heard it a couple hundred times in your life. As the comedian said, it’s on no one’s iPod playlist. It’s not a recreational tune. And you don’t have to sing it. That’s what makes the United States of America different from North Korea. You’re not compelled to be a cog in the state machine. You can be an individual with, heh heh, freedom to choose not to sing. That’s ***far more important ***than the fucking song.
But whenever this holy trinity is impugned in any way, assholes wrap themselves in the flag, and chickenhawks pretend to love the military, and start speaking on behalf of everyone in the military without their permission, and say: You’d better fuckin’ stand up for the pledge and put your hand across your heart and sing the national anthem and wear the flag pin because if you don’t, you hate this country and you’re disrespecting the blood and sacrifice of our soldiers who died for your freedom.
In other news, Army serviceperson fighting Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan is not the slightest bit hurt by someone not standing during the national anthem during a football game in the USA, and, not trying to speak on his or her behalf, but I can use my imagination here, probably doesn’t give a shit, because s/he’s more worried about not being blown up by a pipe bomb and wants to come home to his family and friends. You know what hurts that soldier more than sitting during the national anthem? Coming home after serving their fucking country and then being shot by a racist cop after declaring he’s got a legally permitted and properly licensed firearm and cooperated with the cop who pulled him over for being black.
Might be about a billion times more important than fucking symbolism.
If all you care about is worship of symbols, and don’t actually give a shit about the country or the people in it, then don’t pretend to be a noble patriot and pretend to be all offended when someone else exercises their freedom to speak out against horrific bullshit.
The person that actually loves their country is the one that gives a shit about it enough to make it better. It’s the difference between a parent that neglects their kids and the one that imposes some rules and guidelines. Only one of those two actually gives a shit. If all you do is whine when someone doesn’t give a blowjob to everyone singing the national anthem and doesn’t join in the singing, and doesn’t stand, and that’s your big political issue that bugs you, you’ve got it too good. You obviously don’t understand how someone else has something more substantial to complain about than nationalistic symbolism.
Other countries are nations too, and some of them are total shit. Being a nation isn’t automatically something to worship. How about being a nation that does right by its citizens first, then you can have its symbols respected, voluntarily, by the people in it.
But the moment you make it compulsory to worship the nation-symbols and ostracize anyone who doesn’t bow down before the symbols, that’s the moment you care more about symbols than freedom, liberty, justice, or the idea of a more perfect union.
Those words mean absolutely fucking nothing when all you care about are the words, and none of the actions.
