The House With the Flag

[NanceGreggs]

The day started with a phone call from my mother-in-law. My husband answered the call, and his side of the conversation was limited to, “Yeah, okay.”

He then came into the room and turned on the TV, stating that my Sweet Eileen’s only admonishment was that we immediately do so. “What channel?”, I asked. “Any channel”, was the reply – and I knew it wasn’t good news.

After an hour of stunned silence as we watched the events of September 11, 2001, unfold, still without speaking a word, we both headed to the place where our American flag was kept – heretofore brought out and proudly displayed only on occasions of celebration of our country’s principles and in observance of her sacrifices: Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day, the 4th of July.

We carefully draped the flag over our front porch, a symbol of our solidarity with those in NYC and D.C. who had already died, along with those who were still risking their lives so that others might be saved.

Our flag hung proudly for months that turned into years. When we called for Chinese food or pizza delivery and gave our address, we were invariably told, “We know where you are. You’re the House With the Flag.”

Five years ago, as we again sat in front of the TV, caught up in the same sense of utter disbelief as the launch of Shock ‘n Awe was announced, we silently went out to the front porch and took down our beloved flag – lest we be seen as complicit in what was about to occur.

Five years is a long time – time enough for thousands of soldiers to die; time enough for tens of thousands more to come home broken in body and/or mind, time enough to look at horrific photographs of torture, mutilation and death, time enough to see that the course we are on is doomed to failure, and time enough to know that this failure of epic proportions will have consequences for all Americans in the years – nay, decades – to come.

As we prepare to elect a new president while our economy fails, while our infra-structure crumbles, while our military tries to survive, while our jobs are outsourced, while our allies distance themselves, while our government lies, while the people in the highest positions in our nation continue to trample the Constitution, while the powers-that-be look the other way as our once-proud country becomes the bully-on-the-block instead of the Beacon of Democracy, I realize that in the great scheme of things, my request will be relegated to the bottom of the pile of things that could be done, should be done, must be done.

But my request is simple: Please give me, an American citizen, a reason to drape that flag once again on my front porch with a sense of commitment to my government’s position, a sense of righteousness in our behavior, and a sense of acknowledgement that everything that flag once proudly symbolized has not been forgotten, nor irretrievably lost.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Wouldn't that be something wonderful? To be not ashamed to fly the flag?

I can't wait for that day, either.

I pray to God it's Jan. 20 next year.

[islandmkl]

2. well said.....

thanks.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Oh, WOW, my dear Nance...

I have goosebumps...

Thank you for this...

Right on, as usual, sweetie...

I am weeping for what has become of our beloved country...

And too, for the fact that what has been done to her, has been done in our name...

K&R


:patriot:

[Bluenorthwest]

30. In our name? Not really

No one did this in the name of the American people. Some American people, people like me, were not even welcome to translate intel from the Arabic, so manybe the notion that it was done in my name pushes a button. Perhaps it was done in the name of some Americans but not all, that much is certain.
It was done in the name of Money and Power, two things I lack. This was done in the name of American Corporations, the name of Haliburton, KBR, and Blackwater.
I'd even go so far as to agree that it was done in the name of Republicans, who begged for aimless revenge, who stommped questions and inspections to death by calling people lik me traitors for wanting war to be a last resort instead of some sort of PNAC style cold call. Those who voted for GW Bush and promoted him the second time are certainly and insanely culpable and those of them who have not renounced those actions should be remined constantly of what they have done, and should not be surrogates for our Candidates by the way.
So while I understand the sentiment, it is up to ME to say what is done in my name, it is not for some sociopath to commit crimes and then hang them on me by saying it was done for me.
So I myself don't own this war I tried to stop from before it started. I have yet to lend my support to either of our remaining candidates, unlike millions of people, because in my eyes, both of them have pushed the war along and niether has done what a righteous person would have done from the Senate, and so sure, for those who claimed to be against the war and yet dropped trou for the war funding Dem of your choice without a caveat or a question, who called Reid spineless for voting in a way that is apparently worthy of promoting the caster to President if the Senator is Obama or Clinton. Reid a wimp who ingnored our mandate, but those who did the same thing are anti-war heros an/or merciless hawks, with records the same as each others and as Reid's. So yes I agree that Democrats who went from castigating politicians for not opposing enough, to claiming we have to keep Blackwater Mercs, all for a candidate, it was done in their names and with their assistance, just like two time Bush voters.
For this Party needs to own up to these facts. The majority rejected the anti-war candidates, and picked those who have sort of opposed while they also played along. That says everything, and this primary is almost a year old. No wonder we are still in Iraq. After all of the spitting about getting out, when it came down to it, the Party wanted candidates who did not listen to the 'mandate' in 06, who voted to continue the war, extend the Patriot Act abuses, you name it. I have a friend who screamed about the war, wanted Reid and Pelosi run out of town, and refused to give a moment's support to Kucinich, because Dennis was short. He said, well if he gets enought support I will consider him. And then his house sent money to Obama and to Clinton, and they still bash Reid for voting like Obama. Or actually they praise Obama for voting like Reid, whom they still bash as a coward. A coward. To me this is not even funny. It is co-opting war and peace and using them as fashion issues. We reject what is right if it is short. We support what is wrong if it is GQ or People mag fodder.
So frankly, I am not taking your guilt pill. It was done in your name. Not mine. The 'soccer moms' who went security mad, it was in their name. Not mine. This was done in the name of Dobson and Robertson and McClurkin and Caldwell. This here, this war, it is a Divine Sacrament, refused to me on grounds of me being an infiedel and all.
So I don't care what Bush says. Not my name. Yours, you be the judge. Are you worshipping a funder of that war without reservations? Then the war is yours. Enjoy.

[Duncan]

39. Woah

Good rant but I don't think you meant to direct it at CaliforniaPeggy, she is just saying the mother fuckers would say they were doing it for America. We are Americans. Thats all. Its not a "guilt pill" .

[CaliforniaPeggy]

47. Duncan has it right.

I hate this war.

[JeffR]

4. And what she didn't add:

That flag will go back up when a Democrat is elected president this November.

[NanceGreggs]

5. That IS the day ...

... and it can't come soon enough.

:patriot:

[singilarpoint]

43. HELP!!!

Nance Greggs I consider you one of the wisest among us. I'm gonna make this very short. But I have a question. If you go to youtube and type in Why should god bless america...It is a song that was sung in front of ALL the republican candidates.. Watch the video, it is telling..How do we get the media to play this over and over again??? This is more than a smoking gun..It's the crime seen on tape!!!!! We need to get the MSM to at least mention it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[singilarpoint]

48. Flic//

I just found another version of the video but I don't think that Mcinsane was there. But that does not give the guilty by company excuse...

[conscious evolution]

6. Hang it upside down

[femmocrat]

7. We still fly our flag.

A lot of people around here do, too.

I don't fly it for politcal reasons and I won't take it down for political reasons. To paraphrase Wes Clark, the flag doesn't belong to either political party.

I didn't feel "pressured" to hang a flag by the bandwagon of patriotism after 9/11 and I don't think it symbolizes one's support of the war or the government.

:patriot:

[selador]

19. bingo

deciding whether to fly a flag or not because of what party is in office is ridiculously partisan imo.

the flag doesn't represent the party in power, or the party out of power.

it's about our country. ALL of us.

[JeffR]

22. Partisan politics had nothing to do with taking that flag down.

It was about the invasion of Iraq.

Perhaps the OP didn't make that clear enough. Here's the backstory from her husband's POV:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/04/19_flag.html

[Aussie leftie]

8. If there was a flag representing International Human Rights

that would be the flag I'd fly.

[defendandprotect]

12. Me too --- !!

[Brigid]

9. I wait for that day . . .

when being an American will be a source of pride instead of a source of embarrassment. I think it will take decades to get back to that point -- but electing a Democrat in November will be a start.

[malaise]

10. Lovely post

K & R

[defendandprotect]

11. Personally, I see the flags fading from view now and I think we're better off ---

the reasons for flag flying can be misunderstood --- and they can be used to disinform ---

too often flags and religion are used by those whose intentions aren't good --

has anyone drapped themselves in the flag more than the GOP . . . ????


Perhaps we should be nailing the Constitution to our front doors --- ???

Remember . .. the flag is only a symbol of our freedoms ---

The Constitution is the written record of those promised freedoms --- those inalienable rights!

Let's give up the flat before we give up the Constitution/Bill of Rights ---

[tavalon]

14. I really, really like your idea!

I might just do that.

[dixiegrrrrl]

38. nicely said

:applause: :applause: :applause:

[SharonAnn]

44. Someone said "It's better to burn the flag and defend the Constitution than

it is to defend the flag and burn the Constitution."


You're right. What's important is the Constitution.

[tavalon]

13. Wow, a flag figures prominently in my story from 9/11 as well.

It also figures in my political awakening. Until the months after 9/11 (not the day itself), I was someone who voted in the Presidential elections, tangentially paying attention to that and not much else. I didn't like Reagan, but I didn't pay much attention, nor much to the Clintons either. I was surprised at what happened during the Gore-Bush situation, but didn't pay enough attention to realize I should have been incensed. But after 9/11, I saw flags going up everywhere and I saw fearmongering being stoked by the administration and I saw something that, at the time, I didn't have a word for. Now, I realize it was the ugly underbelly of Nationalism, the very thing that allowed Hitler, Mussolini and so many others to whip their nations into a frenzy of directed hatred. I started looking at some history and I put out a flag, but I put out a different flag. I put out one of the World Flags. I felt it was important to remind people that America is part of a much larger place. My house was egged within 3 days. I was scared but I was also woken up. I became fired up about wanting to know what the fuck was going on. Nearly seven years later, I know as much as anyone on DU (which is often much, much, much more than the average American citizen) and I even know the details about my local politics. I vote in every election and I write letters and...........

A year after the flag incident, I moved and I have given that flag to a new home, but I've never forgotten what that flag started for me. I'm not able to feel much pride around the American Flag, but when I see the World Flag, my heart feels warm. I am a world citizen and I feel ok about that.

[Oldtimeralso]

15. Nance, Another Great One!

I also stopped displaying the American Flag a little less then five years ago today. I honestly do not remember the day that I got totally disgusted with the bush misadminitration. I have two flags to display, one of these is of extreme personal value. No not from a loss but it is a flag that I was given after a personal meeting with William Jefferson Clinton. I was displayed in HIS OFFICE. I was shocked and awed in a good sense. This flag has been folded and stored in a drawer and will stay there until America is free again.:patriot:

[The Wizard]

16. "Patriotism means

to stand by your country always, and your government when it deserves it."
Mark Twain
Some of us defend(ed) the flag. Others hid(e) behind it.
When our military is out of Iraq I'm buying a new flag.

[Demeter]

17. Now That's the Nance We Know and Love

Glad you got Primary fever out of your system.

Bet you could send this to Reader's Digest and get paid.

[madamesilverspurs]

18. There was

a political cartoon that came out when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. It was a simple drawing of a man clutching a flag while sobbing into it. Even Dad, who was an absolute Republican, cried when he saw it. I tore that picture out of the paper and kept it for years, but it got lost in one of many moves. I've thought of it often these last few years.

[defendandprotect]

20. I don't know if I ever saw that photo or whether you explained it so well that I feel

as if I also saw it . . .

It remains a very sad time -- in the case of both assassinations -- heavy on our hearts.
A betrayal of the people, the Constitution, the flag -- the ideals of democracy --- our futures.

Many people immediately understood that.

Coming back to 9/11, I can only say I saw the same kind of betrayal.

[nikto]

21. well said...

...and my sentiments exactly.

Recently I gave some flag-related advice to a friend who asked
about the time & difficulty of driving from California to Arkansas (I've
done many long car-trips myself).

I gave a few suggestions regarding packing/convenience matters, and then added:

"It might be a good idea to put a large American Flag sticker (or 2) on
your vehicle before driving through The South."

Better safe than sorry, IMO.

(But then I remember "Easy Rider", and how Dennis Hopper
got shot-gunned in spite of the US Flag on his motorcycle!)

Sorry, I'm just arguing with myself tonight.
:patriot: :patriot: :hide:

[NanceGreggs]

23. Not a good idea to argue with yourself.

Eventually, you wind up convincing yourself that you were totally right (or wrong), and then demanding an apology for being so stupid (or brilliant) in maintaining your position.

In the worst case scenario, you end up not speaking to yourself for days - which invariably leads to the garbage not being put out on time because you weren't in the mood to remind yourself that it was pick-up day.

And as to who winds up sleeping on the couch as a result of the argument - you or you - well, I don't even want to get into the consequences of THAT conundrum.

[barbtries]

29. my son and i drove from CA to NC

with a magnetic dove that says, "support the troops, bring them home" and a DU bumpersticker on the back of our car. no problems. since we've been here someone in our apt complex has taken my CA license plate and folded it up on itself three times. but the dove and the bumpersticker have not been tampered with.

here in NC a lot of people have bumper stickers. most are sports related. of the ones that are political, i think i've seen more anti bush and anti war. not certain of that, but i think so.

if i sported a flag of the US it would have to be upside down. i don't know my country anymore, and i certainly do not feel proud of it at this point.

[ejpoeta]

42. isn't the flag supposed to be displayed upside down when it is in distress?

though i imagine anyone who does that would get hate mail or something.

[Adams Wulff]

24. It's coming, Nance...

If yesterday's speech is any indication, it may be in August.

[Aviation Pro]

25. On September 11th....

...I was preflighting an airplane when I got a call to stand down. An hour later my unit called and activated the alert roster. I was ready to go to war. When shock and awe started, I knew that we were headed down a terrible road and five years later, and many of my brothers gone, I was right.

There is a special place in hell for those responsible.

[NanceGreggs]

26. "There is a special place in hell for those responsible."

Amen.

[Indenturedebtor]

27. Please please hear her words

For myself and many of my generation we wonder if we were just naive before Bushco took power. I used to believe that we had something special going on here... what the hell happened? :shrug: Did I change or did my country change?

[barbtries]

28. hang it upside down

our country is in great distress

[LaurenG]

31. We did the same thing

We have a flag pole that sits empty...waiting.

[Prophet 451]

32. K&R

I have no words.

[1620rock]

33. Beautiful Nancy...just beautiful. You kind of lost me there for a while

with the primary stuff...welcome home.

[Baby Snooks]

34. Thank you Nance...

Thank you for putting the flag up that day. And thank you for taking it down that other day.

This "war" has not honored those we lost on 9/11. If anything, it has dishonored them.

[Frisbee]

35. Right on, Nance...

...and how sad is it that it has come to this point. I know the right-wing nut-jobs will call us the "blame America first crowd", but damn it, I think everyone here just wants to be proud of what their country stands for and how it interacts with the rest of the world.

[HuffleClaw]

36. well said indeed

stirring words

[Usrename]

37. It won't be easy to undo what they have done.

:patriot:

[lonestarnot]

40. But I'll have to buy a Chinese made one as mine went in the trash!

[Martin Eden]

41. Nance, I usually don't K&R your essays

They're all so unfailingly well-written that one must stand out above the others or touch a certain nerve in order to be recommended.

My nerve ending connected to the flag of my country has been in tatters for five years now. Walking through my neighborhood in the spring of 2003 and seeing all the flags displayed IN SUPPORT of a war I believed was TERRIBLY WRONG stirred in me a disheartening ambivalence towards the symbol formerly revered and now viewed with shame -- by me, but not by so many of my neighbors.

That's what was most disturbing -- not the flag itself but the enormous gulf in understanding between myself and those who exhibited pride in what I saw as a disgrace.

I was (am) torn, and so is the flag (metaphorically) and the social fabric of my community.

When will we have a national leader who begins to heal these wounds?

[ericblair]

45. Well done

A beautiful OP and I agree but I keep my flag flying in spite
of the last 8 years. It's still MY country. The corruption and
idiocy of others cannot take that from me.

[NanceGreggs]

46. Thanks, ericblair ...

... and welcome to the Du discussion. I always consider it a special honour when someone posts for the first time on one of my threads.

:hi:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

49. Beautifully written.

Let us create the will to traverse the pathway that leads to the higher ground.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

50. killed the thread, kicking for a great read...