"Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." The Continental Congress, June 14, 1777
May 6, 2015
By: Linda Case Gibbons
It was 1776.
It was the year George Washington and members of the Continental Congress asked Betsy Ross to make the first American flag. It was also the year Thomas Paine penned his famous words, "These are the times that try men's souls."
The flag was carried into battle in the Revolutionary War. Paine's pamphlet stirred the hearts of the colonials, spurring them on win their freedom from a tyrannical king.
It was the flag Francis Scott Key saw was "still there," flying over Fort McHenry at the beginning of the War of 1812, and it was the inspiration for the words he wrote to The Star Spangled Banner.
Since 1776 our flag has been a symbol of everything that is American.
It is the proud banner under which America has suffered growing pains, emerging from being a colonial possession of England, to an admired, compassionate and powerful nation, a place to which immigrants elbow each other out of the way to gain entrance.
Our flag matters.
Americans have fought and died so that our flag could wave over the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, and there are rules that govern its care.
Never let it touch the ground. When you fly its colors, take it down as the sun sets. When the flag is raised, if in the military, salute it. If a civilian, put your hand over your heart.
And fold it carefully, with the stars visible before handing it to the widow of a fallen soldier.
Our flag matters. People should not tread on it.
But they do.
Because they can.
We have a Constitution which protects the ignorant and the ungrateful who express their contempt for America by desecrating the American flag.
They are protected because back in 1776 a flag was hand-stitched in Philadelphia and a Constitution was fashioned in the same city bestowing rights never before and never since granted to any other citizens in the history of the world.
It is because of this history that people such as Erica Walker can dance defiantly on the U.S. flag to support "Black Lives Matter" protester Eric Shepperd and other protesters at a recent anti-American rally.
Protesters at Valdosta University said that particular rally was in opposition to racism, while taking turns walking on their flag and railing against "white people," "racist America," and "white supremacy.
And they were protected.
Sad to say, when Air Force veteran Michelle Manhart rescued the flag, wresting it from the protesters, she was the one who was arrested, while the opponents of "racism" shouted racial slurs at her.
They could do it because the United States Constitution has the First Amendment.
It's why the demonstrators in Baltimore could riot.
It's why Michelle Obama can choose to remember only the "bad ol' days" of racial discrimination and speak out only about those terrible times when delivering a commencement speech.
It's why the first black First Lady can choose to use her enviable position to reflect only on those terrible days instead of drawing Americans together.
It's why Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake can promise to "get justice for Freddie Gray," and say,
"If, with the nation watching, three black women at three different levels, can't get justice and healing for this community, you tell me where we're going to get it in our country," referring to herself, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Imagine!
They can. All of them. Their speech is protected by the law of the land, our Constitution. And who would have it any other way?
Some would. Sadly when Pamela Geller sponsored a "Draw Muhammed" cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, the media was shocked.
Fully half of them were outraged by the "provocative" nature of her actions, denouncing her and concluding that when it came to this contest, Freedom of Speech had its limits.
For her.
And when it comes to speaking about Islam.
Geller planned the event in defiance of Islamic blasphemy laws and in response to the January killings at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris.
Someone had to. The president sure didn't.
And because Muhammed was "blasphemed," two ISIS terrorists showed up to murder Pamela Geller. When they weren't successful, when they were shot and killed, ISIS, like Muhammad, called the Jewish Geller a "Khanzeer" (pig) and threatened to slaughter her.
"I knew what the stakes were when I started planning the cartoon contest," Geller said. "The jihadis had to be shown that at least some Americans will not bow to violent intimidation."
Geller said it. Someone had to. The president sure didn't.
We live in a country unlike any other. Everyone's speech us protected, even the infamous Nazis in Skokie, Illinois. And so should Pamela Geller's.
Political correctness doesn't work, especially when it comes to handling terrorists, although this administration certainly has tried. And things have only gotten worse, so that now our freedoms are threatened.
Islamic terrorists can burn our flag, destroy ancient artifacts, spit on the cross and decapitate Christians, but Americans dare not draw a picture of The Prophet? Since when?
Perhaps it would be a good thing for the president and those in the media who vacillate over Pam Geller's First Amendment rights to remember: Islam is not a religion of freedom, it is a religion of submission. And there is no freedom of speech under Sharia law.
Hold the line, America.