Swift trees for truth
“ That is why many of us want the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" said in schools every day. The argument that anyone can do all the God-talk they want at home or at church is no more convincing than the argument that anyone can sing the national anthem at home, so why have people do it at baseball games? Public expressions of societal values are crucial to keeping those values alive.
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An America without its flag displayed on national holidays is an America that has lost its sense of self. I am not arguing that displaying the flag guarantees patriotism, only that (a) it is an indispensable aid to its survival, and that (b) never displaying the flag will eventually kill patriotism. ”
There is a specter haunting America -- the specter of people who don't have enough flags up.
Seriously, is this what the culture war has come to?
Read On! |
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| De rigueur flag displays are not only proof of patriotism (implied although denied by Prager) but are necessary. And draping yourself in the flag is a competitive sport. Read further: those who lose the flag-waving competition are unpatriotic.
"Among the most foolish ideas to emanate from the foolish '60s is that what you feel in your heart is more important than what you publicly express. According to this thinking, to cite one example, patriotism is a feeling, not a flag displayed on national holidays... "An America without its flag displayed on national holidays is an America that has lost its sense of self. I am not arguing that displaying the flag guarantees patriotism, only that (a) it is an indispensable aid to its survival, and that (b) never displaying the flag will eventually kill patriotism." |
There is certainly nothing wrong with showing your feeling of national spirit by displaying the flag. I don't think there's any question about that. The problem is when the flag is used as a bludgeon, to exclude Americans who don't share your particular view of what an American is. Or when you drape the flag over a narrow issue, like a dubious war or promoting a particular religion in school, in an attempt to profit from the divisiveness. The flag is the symbol of all Americans, not just those on one side of the so-called culture war, or as Prager has called it, "the second American civil war we are fighting." (Besides, I think his side already has a flag.) |
| Somehow, Christmas displays are analogous, indicating some kind of Christmas spirit. There is some kind of conspiracy against Christmas decoration in society, and those who put up gaudy displays are heroic warriors.
.”A Christian can feel deeply religious and personally celebrate Christmas with great fervor without hanging one light bulb in front of his home. But society suffers from such a self-directed faith. It will be a very sad day in America if Christmas decorations are entirely absent.” “Life is greatly enhanced for Americans of all faiths by people who take the time and pay the expense to put up Christmas displays. Do some people put up displays so lavish that the purpose is partly to outdo their neighbor? Probably. But so what? The rest of us benefit from such competitions.” “It is one way you can immediately have a positive impact on our society.” “They are doing a major public service.” |
Again, there is no question that anybody is free to put up any kind of Christmas decorations or nativity scenes or whatever they want. They can even cut a tree out of the forest and deck it with silver and gold. I certainly doubt whether such superficial displays, be they beautiful or annoying, really indicate anything of importance at all. The important things happen indoors, with family and charity. But hey, this is America, and it's truly none of my business. Now, if I step away from cable news for a minute, I certainly don't perceive any lack of Christmas decoration. Christmas is not "under siege." But even if Mr. Prager finds himself in a neighborhood where the people are a little different than him, my advice to him is that it's simply none of his business how people celebrate the holidays. Society "suffers" for want of charity, comity and understanding, but not for want of decoration. |
| It is not enough of a public-spirited ritual to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in its older form; rather, the words “under God” should be mandated for public schools.
“That is why many of us want the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" said in schools every day. The argument that anyone can do all the God-talk they want at home or at church is no more convincing than the argument that anyone can sing the national anthem at home, so why have people do it at baseball games? Public expressions of societal values are crucial to keeping those values alive.” |
If you were wondering why Mr. Prager chose to write such a ridiculous article, I think this might be the answer. Along with his previously-developed theme that de rigueur, superficial gestures are vital to social values, he here introduces two more myths. (1) "Under God" is a national value, like the flag. While it is true that most Americans are "Christians" of some form, it is not true that Christianity is in the definition of America. This is a land where all may come to worship as they please -- that is the definition of America. (2) Our schools are "public" like a baseball game is "public." This is one of the latest developments in the culture-warriors' rhetoric. Of course it is ridiculous to pass a law banning Macy's from playing a muzak rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy." Nobody is proposing such a law, and that has nothing to do with separation of church and state. |
There is a specter haunting America -- the specter of people who don't have enough flags up.
Seriously, is this what the culture war has come to? As the great country singer John Prine sang back in 1971:
While digesting Reader's Digest
In the back of a dirty book store,
A plastic flag, with gum on the back,
Fell out on the floor.
Well, I picked it up and I ran outside
Slapped it on my window shield,
And if I could see old Betsy Ross
I'd tell her how good I feel.
But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
The point is not that you shouldn't put up a flag or a Christmas tree -- in fact, we encourage it! The point is that you don't get a free ride on morals, ethics, compassion, patriotism, or whatever. Only a fool would think that decorations prove anything.
The problem is not that Prager is encouraging people to put up flags or Christmas lights -- there's nothing wrong with that, but this culture warrior has something more insidious in mind. He thinks that it's necessary, and if you read it further, that if you don't put on displays, you lack the proper patriotism. He is doubly a fool for implying that obligatory symbols mean anything at all -- they're like Saddam Hussein's 100 percent voter turnout.
So, put up your flag and light up the tree! But if you want to prove something, take a stand and prove it in deed, not decoration.
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