Flag burners have rights but do they know what the flag means?

Dec. 2, 2016 |

If there is one kind of protest that gets people’s immediate attention it’s burning a flag and the students who burnt an American flag at Hampshire College recently certainly received plenty of attention this weekend.

Picket, perform a hunger strike, march down the street with signs and a bullhorn – if you do any of that you won’t get as much of the media attention that you will from lighting up an American flag.

As you probably know, hundreds of people converged at Hampshire College in Amherst, among them Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and state Rep. John Velis, in a counter protest to a flag-burning incident at the college. I did not attend, but reports from the Daily Hampshire Gazette indicate the protest was largely peaceful.

At the core of this protest and counter protest is both a freedom of speech issue – flag burning is considered protected speech – and an educational issue.

Hampshire College has been much maligned in the past few weeks. It is a very liberal, politically correct place that undoubtedly could be seen as existing in a bit of a bubble. Conservative and religious schools also exist in a bubble, just a different kind of bubble.

I support the students’ right to protest, but I think they have no idea what the flag actually means. The educational failing of Hampshire College is not impressing upon students the flag is not a symbol of the sitting president or the president-elect. It is a symbol for the nation as a whole, its strengths and weaknesses.

Veterans who see the flag in a way far different than the students organized the counter-protest. For them, the flag embodies the sacrifice they and others made on behalf of the nation.

I’m a liberal. I stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance and properly respect the flag. I honor the nation that I believe has the best intentions and deepest capacity to make a positive impact on the world.

Do we lose our way? Yes and it is through our political process and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution that we can make necessary corrections.

What I would like to see is a series of meetings between vets and Hampshire College students about their differences. Do the students understand the concept of service? Do they understand how positive activism works? Do they see how a flag is a symbol that for many transcends the pettiness of politics and speaks to something greater and higher?

In this time of deep division, we should be looking for the elements of American society that can helps us come together, rather than search actively for division.

Here is a perfect assignment for anyone who is indeed concerned about the rights of Americans: the protest over the oil pipeline in North Dakota.

Where do I start? The fight between big business and those with serious environmental concerns? The lack of mainstream media coverage? Another hideous example of how Native Americans and their property and lives are treated?

This story should be the one dominating the front page. It’s the latest in a group of stories including the water crisis in Flint MI to the spills of pollutants in rivers.

Meredith Clark writing for Poynter about this issue framed this story as an example of something that doesn’t affect enough people to get the media attention it deserves.         She quoted Tommy Cummings, a digital producer at the Dallas Morning news and Native person. He said, “There’s not a lot of mainstream media there, and I know why. The industry’s lost half its staff and to cover something that impacts one percent or less is just not a sexy enough issue to cover.”

You see this is why I view something like a flag burning as an easy, lazy reaction to something. It takes no effort and it has no lasting effect.

Now what the protesters are doing in North Dakota is significant and they are calling attention to energy and environmental policies that can affect the entire nation. It is not an easy fight. There have been attacks upon the peaceful protesters that have resulted in serious injuries with water cannons and rubber bullets.

If Hampshire College students wish to make a statement about an important issue, going to http://standwithstandingrock.net and signing the petition or calling the White House or donating money would be a much better choice than tearing down a flag.

In fact, we all should.

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