Poo and Flags

So there I was, sitting on my front steps happily passing out Halloween candy, when a very cute little Winnie-the-Poo came climbing up the stairs on all fours. (The front door of our townhouse is actually on the second floor, thus stairs on the outside.) Anyway, this extremely cute little Poo was all of 2 or 3-years-old, and was accompanied up the stairs by his "twenty-something" mom. When the Poo reached me, I put some candy in his bag and he promptly fished it out and put it back into my candy bowl. His mom and I laughed, introduced ourselves, and started visiting while the Poo had a great time handing out candy from my bowl to the various witches, transformers, fairies, and vampires that trudged up the stairs. (Did I tell you how cute he was?) Anyway, during my conversation with Poo's mom, she asked me about the flag in the window by my front door. The flag show two blue stars on a white background, with a red border all around. Poo's mom wanted to know where we were from, because she didn't recognize that Country's flag. I told her that being from South Dakota (originally) I was from Fly-Over Country, but that the flag wasn't a Nation's flag; it was a service flag and that the two blue stars represented my two children serving in the United States Armed Forces. I explained that I flew it because I was proud of the service my children have chosen to provide this Nation and that I was proud of them for making that choice. Despite being a bit embarrassed, Poo's mom was extremely gracious and told me I should be proud of my children. It's interesting, isn't it, how little bright, interesting, and educated people know about traditions involving the military?

The Service Flag has been a tradition since World War I, when an Ohioan and Army captain designed it to honor his two sons who were serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Of course, the flag quickly became a popular way to honor those serving in the armed forces. On September 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman pressed for adoption on the floor of the House, stating for the Congressional Record that local and state authorities had adopted the service flag, and advocated for national adoption, because, "The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother — their children." The flags fell out of use during the unpopular Vietnam conflict, but have since come back into use to honor our service members. The United States Code authorizes anyone who has a member of their "immediate" family serving in the armed forces during any period of war or hostilities to display the service flag in the window of their home. Family members are also authorized to wear a lapel pin to honor their serving children or siblings. Organizations are also authorized to fly a service flag to honor members of their organization who serve. Interested and want to know more? Check out the Pentagon's fact sheet on service flags.

UPDATE Poo's gracious mother has sent me flowers along with a note thanking me for letting Poo help pass out my Halloween candy. She may not have known much about military traditions, but she sure knows a lot about being a nice woman and wonderful neighbor.

The Spirit of America

I've said before in this blog how much I appreciate and respect my Dad. He's a great guy! After serving 20 years in the Air Force, he retired and took a job as the Chief of Police in a small South Dakota town. (Once he used his police car lights to pull over his eldest child--me--as I rode my 10-speed bike down one of the town's main roads. At the time, this 17-year old girl wanted to die of embarrassment, and just knew she was the victim of police harassment. He just laughed and thought it was a huge joke. Now I agree . . . and my kids wonder where I get it from.) Anyway, in 1976, the local small-town paper published the following essay my Dad wrote to celebrate the Bicentennial. Funny how something written 22 years ago still resonates . . .

The Spirit of America

During this Bicentennial year, the people of this country have been hearing vast amounts of praise about our ancestors and how they, through their infinite wisdom, made our nation what it is today. Although our forefathers did initiate this system, I feel that it has been a continuing process on the part of all Americans that has made our country the bulwark of freedom that we now enjoy. The fundamental philosophy of the individual freedoms we now take for granted was not an instant process but rather one that has evolved over the past 200 years.

While it is true that our country’s basic documents, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, spelled out what was desired in the area of personal freedoms, it took many years of constant refinement and hard work by legislators, judges, scholars, and others to make the system truly work. Even today, our judiciary and legislators are still refining portions of the interpretation of the Constitution by judicial opinion and legislative actions. This function is meant to constantly improve the system of personal freedoms that was first declared by our country’s founders.

The people of our nation enjoy more personal freedoms than any other country in the world. Basic freedoms that we take for granted could never even be envisioned in most other lands. A limited comparison will clarify my point.

This country employs no system of mandatory identification or identity cards, producible on demand by any public official. We need no travel permit to go to Rapid City, Chicago, or New York – stamped and validated along every stop. We have no barricaded borders between states, no concertina wire, or no checkpoints to track our travel. We can buy merchandise of our choosing from a retail outlet of our choice, based solely on our individual economic status, without a ration card or official permission. We do not have to wait weeks, months, or yes, even years for basic items such as refrigerators or automobiles.

We have no system of Secret Police to track and report our every move. Electronic eavesdropping or an encouraged system of “Neighbor Watching” is not our national policy. We are not guilty until proven innocent in our system of justice. We have safety in the confines of our home, never fearing a knock on the door, only to be taken away on a trumped-up charge and jailed without a public trial.

We can openly and without fear of retribution, criticize our leadership at every level. We can agree, disagree, or publicly comment on policies or procedures under which we live. If we dislike a program – local, state or federal, we can collectively change it through a ballot box or referendum. We can vote for our leadership without fear of retribution or retaliation.

We have guaranteed freedom of religion, free from any form of religious prosecution, contrary to systems in many other countries. We also have the right to protect our lawfully owned personal property, free from debtor’s court without due process of law. We are protected in our persona, property and beliefs by the consensus of the people, following the dictated rights as set down by our framers of the Constitution.

Yes, we do have laws, ordinances, and restrictions. We, as individuals, must conform to a set of rules. It could never be any other way. What makes our system unique is that those people, who formulated our nation, gave us the legacy of personal and individual dignity. Each person, no better or no worse than his neighbor, has the right to be treated equally under the law. Our rule book, the Constitution along with the Bill of Rights, guarantees each of us a fair shake anywhere and anytime. Freedom of choice, expression and dignity, so easily assumed, are basic to our way of life.

Yet for all of our basic guaranteed freedoms, we still have those who question our system or attempt to circumvent its meaning. Those people have the right, as we all do, to express their desires as long as they do so with within the law. Those that break the law, for whatever reason, must pay the penalty. Some seem to forget that respect for others, their property and person, must not be violated.

Let us reflect from time to time on our basic freedoms. We have a wonderful time-tested system, proven capable of working over the past 200 years. Let us change it only for the better, never taking away or detracting from what our heritage has given us. Take time to read our Constitution and our Bill of Rights and really feel how fortunate we are to live in the United States of America.