Recently I received the following in an email:
We have a little less than one month and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America .
If you forward this email to least 11 people and each of those people do the same ... you get the idea.
THE PROGRAM:
On Friday, September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States . Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this eighth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity.. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds
So, here's what we need you to do .
(1) Forward this email to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.
(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.
Thank you for your participation.
To which I replied:
I'm really not much of a patriot. This country did not treat the soldiers of the Vietnam Era well at all. And now everybody is waving flags and saying "thank you for your service" and "God Bless America" and "support our troops" and... well you get the idea. Perhaps I am bitter and jaded, but it looks to be too little too late. Yeah, I am thankful for the kids who put their asses on the line in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban (which we invented and armed), and I stand for the flag as it passes instead of texting friends on my cell phone like all the kids do today. And while I wouldn't call it love, I like my country. But I have recently discovered something about myself... I'm not really a blindly loyal kind of guy. I will not "go once more into the breech" nor will I "go quietly into the night". I pick my battles and will choose the hill that I want to die on. And it won't have anything to do with 9-11 or flying my flag.
Now I don’t mind people feeling patriotic and flying flags as long as they don’t poke me in the eye with them. I won’t be sending the email to 11 people and I won’t be flying my flag (yes I own one) on Sept. 11th. I will not be bullied into pretending I am a patriot when I am not.
But the question stands, at least in my mind: If all those people who flew flags after 9-11 were patriots, are they no longer patriots now because they aren’t flying flags? And if so, what value is a sunshine patriot?
I am a quiet patriot. I served. I was paid. I am not sure whether I can be called a mercenary or not. I came away with knowledge and a skill that now make me financially comfortable. I shudder at the way many people mistake flag waving for patriotism, at the importance they attach to a material "thing." It reminds me of the Zen conundrum of mistaking the finger pointing at the moon for the moon.
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