As I was browsing the internet today after school, I came across a few articles detailing an event from earlier this year (September) in a North Carolina school district where the display of the American flag on clothes was banned. Seeing as this action was taken the week of 9/11, the outcry from many of the parents and students of the school, Hobbton High School, was unsurprisingly strong. The official report of the school says that the school decided to ban flags since students were wearing flags of other countries, but even the principal stated that he thought the entire situation was "unfortunate," according to one NBC article. The banning of the display of the American flag on clothes raises an interesting topic that, if I remember correctly, Donna brought up. What makes the difference between American flag undergarments and beach towels and the actual banner? And, as Deirdre brought up, how can a seemingly innocent public recreation of the flag (on the street) be considered disrespectful? It's not that I consider myself anti-American, but it just seems that a big deal is being made out of something that has no inherent value. Jasmine brought up in her post that that American public needs something to attach their "patriotic" feelings towards. Why choose the flag?
On a equally fascinating (but somewhat unrelated) note, the same search yielded an article that considered flag-burning to be the pinnacle of patriotism. If one honestly feels that this country has been led to far astray from the expected and assumed ideals, this seemingly-treasonable act is most certainly, in my opinion, warranted (though I doubt that I would ever do it). What do you guys think?
6 comments:
I would have to disagree that the flag has no value; the flag has value because we, the people, make it have value in our inability to separate the flag from the thing that it symbolizes. Wearing the flag or drawing it in chalk on the street is in my opinion not unpatriotic. We are Americans and we have the right to behave any way we wish to behave, or respect in any way we want to respect the symbols of this nation. What Americans have rights over other Americans to decide how the flag is to be respected? If this government is based on equal opportunity and freedom of religion, people should be able to include the flag on beach towels, on the streets, or in artwork. If the symbol is thought to unite us as a nation and is commonly respected, then just like religion, then it should be open to our own interpretations.
I guess I should clarify: I really don't believe anything has any INHERENT value, so I really was not trying to make a point out of the flag. In this sense, then, gold and diamonds have no superior value over cardboard boxes. And while I agree that this is a free country and that we are at liberty to express our opinions unless it endangers the common public (like screaming "BOMB!" in an airport), there are always going to be certain stigmas attached to actions that are open to our interpretation (like burning the flag).
PS- Who posted that comment?
Hey, it's Erin.
I kind of agree with what the article that Ian found said. If someone does care enough about the country to risk going against the standard social code to "save" it, then that could be considered patriotic, since they obviously believe in the virtues that our country is founded on. However, one can't really say what exactly the motive of the flag burner is unless you ask. They could just hate America. Free speech is an extremely important right that we are born with and thus we can "respect in any way we want to respect the symbols of this nation." However, along with your own right to freedom of speech comes another person's right and they can basically say whatever they please about your actions, and they will if it is offensive.
I can understand if flag burning is offensive to people. But if a person burns a flag, they don't necessarily hate the country or the military. You can strongly disagreed with a person and love them all the same. In my opinion, the most important thing of all is freedom of speech and I don't think that it should be infringed upon, even if it does offend others because as Donna pointed out in her post on political correctness, sometimes it's impossible to try not to offend anyone and say something about certain issues.
the first one was Amy, by the way, and this is me, too. Just because there are social norms that most people are aware of (like not burning the flag) does not mean that they cannot be altered or that they are right. For example, it's considered rude to tell someone that they're fat, but years ago it was rude to tell someone not to smoke near you. Now it is less accepted to smoke in public areas, showing a change in norm. Although it would take a lot of time, I feel that we need to move away from the sense that burning the flag = bad, as we should be able to express our patriotism in a variety of ways and not be limited by conformance to social norms.
I agree completely with Amy.
The flag has legitimate value because the connototation associated and embedded in the minds of the United States is patriotism and loyalty.
However, wearing the flag as a beachtowel is not innapropriate, because it just shows that we chose the actual design of that flag in our purchasing of that object, over something like Pokemon or pink butterflies. Doesn't that just mean we appreciate the flag more if we pay money for its image?
I also agree with the article Ian posted about. It is definitely patriotic to go out of your way to do anything positive for the country.
that was Stephanie.
Post a Comment