The Problem With “Old Glory”

 “First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.”

Every now and again a request, feeling like a demand, hits my radar to fervently support our flag.  Each time it does, I have the overwhelming compulsive to respond.  Such is the case today. 

Those of us who were once filled with pride and stood with hand over heart whenever and wherever “Old Glory” appeared can no longer do so today. 

Our flag once represented our incredible determination and sacrifice in establishing our own country; our own way of life.  The winning of two world wars from which we could not escape involvement.  An end to slavery and our public repudiation of racism and bigotry in the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which ended the Jim Crow doctrine of segregation.  The first Catholic elected President of the United States. The creation of the American Red Cross.   The creation of a polio vaccine from which no one was financially enriched.  The Marshall Plan and the Berlin Airlift. The blood spilled to create labor unions for financial farness and more humane treatment in the work place. The establishment of the most affluent middle class the world has ever known, and from that affluence, the most robust economy the world had ever seen.  The implementation of unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The populous uprising that ended the Vietnam War and demanded accountability for Watergate. The threat of nuclear war averted through diplomacy and negotiation – compromise.  The six voyages to the moon and back again; with twelve Americans walking on the moon and without our ever losing a human life.  Believe it or not, there is more.

That America is now dead.  An America that was once governed with  compassion, integrity and comprise.  Gone from governing is “Love thy neighbor…” “Due unto others…”  “What you do unto the least of my brethren you due unto Me.”  “My brothers keeper.” 

Predominate is hatred through polarization and intransigency created by partisanship and tribalism.  Predominate is greed – avarice – and selfishness.   

Old glory now represents endless wars, spree shooting and mass killings that go unabated; a country whose laws no long provide justice for numerous criminal acts (An unarmed man is shot seven times in the back without any reprisal); that callously ignores thousands of Americans suffering and dying needlessly due to a  primarily driven financial healthcare system that the rest of the industrialized world abandoned decades ago; a country that cares nothing for its homeless or children living in poverty; a country that spits on the statue of liberty - a country that separates children from their parents. There is more – so much more. 

Blind patriotism isn’t patriotism.  It is a demand for conformity.  That conformity can only be healthy and admirable when it represents the loftiest of human endeavors to improve the human condition. When it is less than healthy and admirable it can be destructive.   As President Kennedy stated; “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

America is the greatest country in the world??? 

Not anymore and here’s why.

“First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hvrCNkL9RM