A story today in several different forums told of a group of folks in Valdosta, GA, at Valdosta State University, who, having taken umbrage at previous days event concerning an American flag and what one could do with it, managed to close the campus, and produced a kerfuffle on social media.
The event that led up to this sorry turn of affairs came from a group protesting perceived wrongs, and as a part of that protest were walking on an American flag spread on the ground. An Air Force veteran, one Michelle Manhart, objected to this, and tried to take the flag away from the protesters, in particular from the protester who happened to own it. Long story shortened, police were called, and the flag was returned, but not before very harsh words were exchanged and some physical actions took place.
Ms. Manhart took the position that the flag was being desecrated, veterans were being disrespected and that it (the flag) belonged "to the US" while the owner of the flag (and the police, eventually) agreed that it was indeed the personal property of the protester and returned it to her. Ms. Manhart was arrested and briefly detained.
Which leads us to today's events, wherein a group of "thousands of protesters" came out in support of Manhart and her position for "defending" the flag. Today's group were prominently flying and otherwise displaying American flags while chanting 'USA! USA!" and apparently were enough to force the University to close the campus. This group takes the position that ANY abuse, misuse or disrespect of the flag is unpatriotic, sinful, and probably fattening. At any rate, they were certain the Constitution or some law had been violated, and they weren't going to take it. Which takes below the orange diversion tactic to the purpose of today's acorn-tossing session.
There is an old tradition of using the flag for protesting things the government does but really shouldn't - like the Viet Nam war for instance. In fact, from that period, SCOTUS (Txas v. Johnson, 1989) pretty thoroughly upheld the right to use the flag as a protest device - burning it was the event of choice - because this little thing called 'free speech' as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that right.
As was pointed out by VSU President Dr. William McKinney, in a letter supporting the protesters who trod on the flag, it IS their right to use the flag however they choose, including defacing it if they want. Dr. McKinney quoted Mr. Justice Brennan from the case cited above, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."
And therein is the basis for today's rant (and also the reason the government can't pass any law about abusing the flag as a form of protest): The American flag may be a symbol which REPRESENTS America, but the individual flags belong to the people who own them, not the government per se. AND those who own them are within their first amendment rights to abuse their flag in any way they see fit. A person may walk on the flag and still be a patriot. You may disagree with them, and you may still be a patriot too.
But please NEVER come at me with mass chants and a bunch of flags and YOUR values, and tell me I am NOT a patriot because I walked on the flag. Don't tell me that YOU are a patriot because you will always fly the flag and "support the troops" (whatever that is supposed to mean) and you support the Constitution.
A patriot, by definition, loves their country and will support the laws, etc that it stands for. In the sense of the US and our Constitution,being a patriot also means you are free to disagree with those laws, and to protest by any lawful means to try to change them, or at least to make any inequalities in the law known. Blind agreement with the government or support of it without applying rational thought is NOT patriotism, especially if you insist in denying me or anyone else the right to speak or demonstrate our disagreement.
Right now, our nation is chock-full of the 'fair-weather patriots'. wanting to say on one hand how great the US is while on the other screaming about how horrible the government is and how we should get rid of it.
The folks who went to VSU to show the flag ad holler about the first protest group aren't patriots in any sense. My support, and my ideal of patriotism, rest with that first bunch. This country is a long way from perfect or from being 'number one' in anything meaningful or positive, but this Squirrel loves it, and loves the promise and potential that was once there and can be there again. I'm a patriot - are YOU?