Thursday, November 19, 2009

FLAGrant Chauvinist Pig

Yes, I admit it. I am a FLAGrant Chauvinist Pig and proud of it. That’s right, I love my country, I love “Old Glory”, and I am not ashamed to say that...

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one Nation
under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

And that is why I became more than a little bit angry, though not really surprised, when I learned that the video immediately below was one of the of the 20 finalists being considered by the DNC as part of a health care video contest run by Barack Obama’s campaign arm, “Organizing For America”. The video features a Los Angeles Street Artist who calls himself Saber, painting a mural of an America flag, which is then splattered with health care graffiti until it is completely covered by black paint.

"Saber Speaks"- Organizing for America Health Care Reform Video Challenge


Hmmmm, I wonder if any National Endowment for the Arts funds were used in the making of this piece of propaganda.


Anyway, the left will likely defend this as artistic expression, and say that it is protected by the first amendment. Well maybe so, but I call it a desecration, and of a kind that has become all too common in our country.


I remember a similar example of artistic expression ten years ago. It was an exhibit at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a work by “Dread” Scott Tyler, a self-proclaimed "supporter of the Revolutionary Communist Party U.S.A.," titled “What Is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?” The work consisted of an American flag stretched out on the floor, directly below a ledge holding two books in which visitors were invited to enter their comments. The clear and deliberate attempt was to encourage people to walk upon the flag.


I ended up in a prolonged debate with an artist friend. He defended it using all the typical illogic so common to the left. The debate came to an abrupt close when I finally told my friend that I would acknowledge and accept this as a legitimate form of artistic expression, as long as he acknowledged and accept that the broken and bloodied body of the artist laying on the floor next to the display was also was a legitimate form of artistic expression

Please do not get me wrong. I fully defend the right of anyone to decent; using almost any legal means at their disposal. Though I would not necessarily appreciate or agree with it, I would defend the right of anyone to burn an effigy of a president (as was done many times by Bush haters) with whose policies they did not agree . I would defend their right to deface or burn a map of the United States of America, or a picture of the White House, if they felt it would express their disapproval of some America policy. I might even defend their right to drag the dead carcass of an American bald eagle through the streets in protest of a certain action by the government that they find to be grievous and offensive.

But desecrating the flag is something quite different. The flag is special because of what it represents. I am not talking about the thirteen stripes that stand for the original thirteen states. And I do not mean the fifty stars that symbolize the fifty individual sovereign states that currently make up our nation. No, the flag represents something much, much more.

The flag of the United States of America represents not only the sweat and tears of every American who has worked hard and made sacrifices to build a better life, and by so doing helped make this the greatest nation that GOD has ever raised up on the Earth, it also represents the life’s blood of every American who from the founding of this great nation, to this very day, have laid their lives on the line, and given their all to preserve and protect the Freedom of every individual American.

Therefore, to desecrate the flag of the United States of America, is to piss on the graves and curse the blood of those brave Americans who have paid the ultimate price, and that is intolerable. At least it used to be. There was a time when as I suggested to my artist friend, that anyone who would dare to deliberately violate and despoil our flag would find themselves in a great deal of pain.

Wouldn’t it be nice if, as in our grandfathers' day, virtually every American still respected the flag of the United States of America. Then maybe we would still have artist that produce works the way they did back in 1939, when the cartoon below was made. As you will see, back then even Porky was a FLAGrant Chauvinist Pig.


Old Glory Porky Pig



Links related to flag desecration:

* 'Desecrated flag' video is DNC finalist

* ‘Defaced Flag’ by Los Angeles “Street Artist” Saber is Finalist In DNC’s Health Care contest

* Art for whose sake? - controversial use of American flag in Art Institute of Chicago exhibit

* Chicago: Flag-on-the-Floor Furor

* A Flag On The Floor: Art Or Desecration?


Links related to Flag History, Respect & Etiquette:

* OUR FLAG

* The American Flag

* Flag Picture Gallery

* Flag Etiquette - STANDARDS of RESPECT

* DAVE MARTUCCI'S FLAG PAGES

* A Lesson For Americans by Mike Dalka

* The Voice of Patriotism In Writing

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

5 comments:

  1. The flag is a our symbol and holds great meaning. Good post man. Good post.

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  2. The liberal arm of the Democrats don't respect the traditions of this country. If they did, they would read the Constitution once in a while and then compare their notes with the notes of the Federalist Papers. They would rather spray paint over our flag than learn real history.

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  3. If this comprises chauvanism then may I join you in a very hearty "oink!"

    Great post!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with you whole heartedly BB. Most libs have little to know understanding of the principles and ideas that formed the foundations upon which this nation was built.

    I have a decent library of material including the Federalist Papers. Amongst my books is one I found some years back at a used book sale. There were two copies of a book tiltled "BY These Words" Sub titled "Great Documents of American Liberty, Selected and Placed in Their Contemporary Settings". I looked through one of them and realized that I had stumbled across a real treasure.

    I bought both copies, gave one to my best friend (who currently is a missionary in Cambodia) and I keep the other copy next to my Bible, and read from it regularly.

    As with my Bible I find that study leads to understanding and understanding leads to devotion. I angers me when I see how little rteal history is taught in our schools today. Which of course is the reason so many people can be so easily led astray by speeches made by a skilled telepropmter reader.

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  5. Thank you for the "oink" Right-Wing Libertarian, I am pleased to accept it in the spirit in which it was given.

    Chauvinism is generally defined as “Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country”, and often derided as fanatical patriotism.

    I will gladly bear the label "fanatical patriot", before I will sit back silently and do nothing, while the symbol of the sacrifices made by so many brave and faithful Americans; who have given their life's blood for freedom, is treated with the kind of disrespect and distain shown by anti-American trash, like the so called artist who made this grotesque example of video vomit.

    ReplyDelete

Keep it clean. If all you can do is call names or threaten retribution, It will be assumed by most readers that you are admitting that you have nothing intelligent or worth while to add to the conversation, and therefore are not worthy of paying attention too.