The American Flag is not My Flag

I don't stand for the national anthem, nor do I respect the American flag. Nonetheless, I love this country - just not for reasons of patriotism. It feels more like home than other countries, probably simply because I was born and raised here. The mountains in the west are beautiful, as are the lakes and forests of the northeast. Some parts of the culture here are wonderful, and there are elements of what is called the "American spirit" that I identify with.

I love some of the ideas which lead to the creation of this nation. I think that respect for individual rights is a great ideal. The concepts of property rights that are part of the law here really benefit people. I appreciate that I can say what I like on this website. I wouldn't care to live where I’m not permitted to say "piss on the flag" or make other political statements that are unpopular.

For reasons that include the ones above I choose to live here, and not by default, as many do. With a business I can operate from anywhere, I can move to another country more easily than most people, and I may someday, but I am here for now. I don’t understand those intellectuals who seem to hate the United States and glorify places like Vietnam or Cuba, yet never leave their comfortable homes and lives behind. If for some reason I thought Cuba was a better place to live, I would move there.

In fact, if someday Cuba IS a better place for me and my wife, we WILL leave the United States. Despite all the things I love about this country, I have no allegiance to the land or to the people. My preference is loyalty to right principles and honest thought. If the United States became a place where rights are routinely violated and Cuba became the land of freedom, we would go there, or someplace else.

As for the flag, and the inflammatory title of this essay, they come from a realization I had one day. We were in a bar, and it occurred to me that there, or in almost any public gathering, I would be in danger if I said such unpatriotic things openly. This is a land of violent people, and the risk inherent in telling people I would piss on their flag suggests that many, if not most Americans, have more respect for the symbol than for anything they might pretend it represents.

It is the nature of symbols to become rallying points for a crude group mentality. Thus, I find flag worship to be dangerous, contrary to my values, and easily manipulated to bring to power men and women who have bad intentions. Whatever symbols originally represent, the experience of history shows that in time they are almost always used to justify hurting people.

Some good principles were used as the basis for the creation of the United States, even if they were applied inconsistently and mixed with less useful principles. The government and the people here have in many ways, at many times and places, been a force for good. But there have been evil actions as well, from the slaughtering of Native Americans to the jailing of citizens in concentration camps because of their Japanese ancestry, and many other examples.

How does a government get people to agree to or tolerate such atrocities? Certainly not by appealing the ideals of human rights or freedom. But by waving the flag and appealing to patriotism governments do gain support for or acceptance of such criminal actions. Imagine if there were no patriotism or flag worship - it would be more difficult to commit such evils, or at least much more difficult to get public support.

Consider the recent attempts to prohibit burning or otherwise desecrating the American flag. Could we find a clearer example of the kind of political speech the first amendment was meant to protect than a political statement like the burning of the flag? The law is not about a fire hazard, or we would outlaw Fourth-of-July fireworks too. In fact, the entire point of the various laws proposed was to stop individuals from saying something that was unpopular, which is what a man is doing when he burns a flag.

At the time of the debate, most people in this country were in favor of such a law, according to the polls done. In other words most "good citizens" here would put a man in jail for making a political statement they don't like. And this American flag represents high ideals? Not even close. Like all flags do in time, it has become a hypnotic symbol worshipped by citizens who would happily take away a man's freedom for the sake of patriotism that supposedly reveres freedom. How stupid is that?

The statement "piss on the flag," is meant to wake people up from the hypnotic power of flags and show how they lead us to hurt others. This disrespect for the American flag is not actually anti-American, unless you believe that a symbol is more important than principles and freedom. And it isn’t just about this one flag. Piss on all flags. They don’t deserve our respect. Be loyal to high moral ideals instead, or else flags will lead to their destruction.