Bill Moyers brilliant comment on American flag lapel pins (MUST READ)

[Czolgosz]

"I wore my flag tonight. First time. Until now I haven't thought it necessary to display a little metallic icon of patriotism for everyone to see. It was enough to vote, pay my taxes, perform my civic duties, speak my mind, and do my best to raise our kids to be good Americans.

Sometimes I would offer a small prayer of gratitude that I had been born in a country whose institutions sustained me, whose armed forces protected me, and whose ideals inspired me; I offered my heart's affections in return. It no more occurred to me to flaunt the flag on my chest than it did to pin my mother's picture on my lapel to prove her son's love. Mother knew where I stood; so does my country. I even tuck a valentine in my tax returns on April 15.

So what's this doing here? Well, I put it on to take it back. The flag's been hijacked and turned into a logo - the trademark of a monopoly on patriotism. On those Sunday morning talk shows, official chests appear adorned with the flag as if it is the good housekeeping seal of approval. During the State of the Union, did you notice Bush and Cheney wearing the flag? How come? No administration's patriotism is ever in doubt, only its policies. And the flag bestows no immunity from error. When I see flags sprouting on official lapels, I think of the time in China when I saw Mao's little red book on every official's desk, omnipresent and unread.

But more galling than anything are all those moralistic ideologues in Washington sporting the flag in their lapels while writing books and running Web sites and publishing magazines attacking dissenters as un-American. They are people whose ardor for war grows disproportionately to their distance from the fighting. They're in the same league as those swarms of corporate lobbyists wearing flags and prowling Capitol Hill for tax breaks even as they call for more spending on war.

So I put this on as a modest riposte to men with flags in their lapels who shoot missiles from the safety of Washington think tanks, or argue that sacrifice is good as long as they don't have to make it, or approve of bribing governments to join the coalition of the willing (after they first stash the cash.) I put it on to remind myself that not every patriot thinks we should do to the people of Baghdad what Bin Laden did to us. The flag belongs to the country, not to the government. And it reminds me that it's not un-American to think that war - except in self-defense - is a failure of moral imagination, political nerve, and diplomacy. Come to think of it, standing up to your government can mean standing up for your country."



Why can't Bill Moyers be our president?

[MADem]

1. He only has ONE DUI....

You need to have several busts, at least a few covered up, to qualify for that post now, apparently. And you need THREE to be VP!!!

[Czolgosz]

4. I knew there had to be a reason.

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

2. I know what you mean.

However, we did have such a man run for President in 2004, only he was a bit more subtle and a bit more subdued, as he was part of the Washington power clique, however powerless...

If you need examples, read his convention speech -- it was nothing short of magnificent and magnificently indicting of this administration and its policies and tactics. The exquisite symbolism of his "Reporting for duty" should not have been lost on any of us -- by that one phrase, he was alluding to so many things: things he had done and was willing to do once again, and yet pillorying those that did not report for duty and yet were preening around in costumes, appropriating/declaring victory neither theirs nor yet even achieved.

I will take both that kind of exquisite poetry in national leaders and this kind of eviscerating truth from media members.

Remember, in the face of this cowed media (the newsweek flap) and spineless Dems, he never backed off that open-mike comment either...

[alpizzy]

3. Take back the flag. Take back Pariotism!

www.progressivepatriot.com

[BrotherBuzz]

5. I caught him on Pacifica radio (KPFA)

He was absolutely wonderful and he had my blood boiling at the same time. Spot-on!

[LaPera]

6. You want him to be president because he wrote an article on what

many people, including myself have been saying and thinking for years?

Bill Moyer's is a fine TV journalist but...

That's like saying, a Hollywood action celebrity like Arnold Schwarzenegger should be Governor of California?

[Sequoia]

7. Not really, Arnie has no brains, just BS

[Czolgosz]

11. I'm just expressing how much more rational Moyer's view compared to Bush

[ElectroPrincess]

15. Um ... tapping lightly on your shoulder ... don't forget Ronnie

Further your analogy is not accurate. Action figures and honest Journalists are far from one and the same entity.

[markus]

8. Because he hasn't been nominated yet. I so move. Seconds?

I really think it's time to step outside the limiting box of Washington and the governor's mansion and look for a real American.

I'm sorry, but the recent episode in which Newsweek traded the existance of the Fourth Estate for membership in The Note's Gang of 500 has just about soured me on anyone inside of DC.

I say Moyers in '08. Before it's too late!

I also would like to nominate Jim Hightowers as Vice President. Or perhaps Molly Ivins. It would be fun to carry Texas.

[Czolgosz]

14. I live in Texas and I cannot believe there was a time in the recent

past when Jim Hightower held a statewide office. Ahh, good times . . .

[FreedomAngel82]

9. That's great

I'm with him. The flag belongs to the country, not the government. So true!! Just like John Kerry said "patriotism includes protest."

[bruin303]

10. Conservatives LOVE this guy

He is the main reason why they have their sites set on PBS. I wonder what those folks would say about this post.

[onenote]

12. john prine said it best

"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."

onenote

[DFLer4edu]

13. It's about time somebody said so!

[Kurovski]

16. Last year I was traveling on Amtrak

and an elderly woman sat next to me for one day of the trip.

I was reading "The Republican Noise Machine" by David Brock. The woman asked me what the book was about. I respectfully replied that it was about how the Republican Party gets its message out to the public. Not wanting to personally offend ,I was dithering on in a very carefully politic manner when she calmly interrupted with "I can't stand George Bush."

She spoke of how two of her grandchildren were in Iraq and told a few stories about very disgruntled troops. The most memorable was that it was difficult for them to get fresh water, fresh water! One grand-daughter escaped a close call.

She gave me a flag pin that she was wearing, which I still have on one of my jackets.

I flew my big flag (I have a small one out all the time) for Armed Forces Day on the 14th.

I tear up at The Star-Spangled Banner when I'm not getting irked by grand-standing renditions that make the song about the performer.

It's only a war anthem on the surface, it's much more, it's about the resiliency of a strong Democracy. At least to me it is.

[YankeyMCC]

17. This line says it all...

"When I see flags sprouting on official lapels, I think of the time in China when I saw Mao's little red book on every official's desk, omnipresent and unread."

[Czolgosz]

18. I really liked this line: "They are people whose ardor for war grows

"They are people whose ardor for war grows disproportionately to their distance from the fighting."