A short message today,and a quick dip
into the political schemata.
The Presidential Race has been throwing
mud for over a year now, and I mostly felt it was even, and that I
wasn't bought on either of the candidates. Recently, though, one of
the major candidates' campaign replaced the stars in the American
Flag with their campaign logo. This show of absolute and total
arrogance, removing the individual states and bastardizing the flag
with your own logo, your own ideal, is so against the original
intention of the flag, that I fear your campaign has descended into
Socialism.
First, a disclaimer on the matter: I
would say the same for anyone. If Chuck Norris were to replace the
stars with his face, I would speak out against him. If anyone does
such a damning thing to my flag, I will never support such a jaded
campaign.
The American Flag has fifty stars to
symbolize the fact that we may be a unified State, but we are fifty
separate States under one banner. Each state is different, and THAT
is diversity on a map. The stars are an integral part of the flag,
and if the two-hundred-forty-someodd-year old stars are replaced by
such a fatuous, temporal symbol of your own over-blown importance, I
will rip your logo off and place the shining glories back on.
This Flag will not stand for your
arrogance. I will not stand for this, and I would love to hear
somebody try to rationalize this offensive mockery of the flag.
Joe, the flag is but a symbol. It is not, and should not be, a 'sacred' idol.
ReplyDelete"Modified" flags have been used in advertising, political and otherwise, forever. The people who are stirring up this kerfuffle really ought to have better things to do and argue on the policies and positions, and not this cynical triviality.
Here's an example of a similar motif:
http://www.loriferber.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/2493/image/3998/
In which case, if I was alive at the time, I would have been persuaded not to vote for that candidate. As I have only recently (2000+) gained a small amount of intelligence, this is the first instance of this fallacious use of the flag I have witnessed. Thus, it is the one i most vehemently opposed to.
ReplyDeleteI pray to God that I do not need to pull this blog post out in a few years for another candidate's election campaign. The purpose of a symbol such as a flag is, in my eyes, to provide an image as to the standard you attempt to live by. The American flag uses separate stars for a reason, and I have great respect for this particular symbol. It's much older than I. It is much the same respect that I have for a religious symbol.
Curiously enough, if someone were to doctor a Bible or Quran, or burn either of them, i would be equally infuriated, if the intention is anything but respect. A symbol such as a flag or a Bible is something people turn to, something older and more powerful than them. I would prefer advertisement campaigns respect the dignity of these symbols.
Sadly, many people seem to be apathetic about this. I prefer to be obstinate in my respect of the flag's integrity.