OLD GLORY UNDER ATTACK
Actions by Newton vandals a disgrace
Every day is a good day to honor our veterans, but never more so than today as the American flag — a steadfast symbol of freedom our heroes have lost life and limb defending — is under fire.
The latest example of this ongoing outrage occurred over the past week in Newton where a bunch of losers, there’s no other way to describe them, ripped down and stole American flags that were proudly draped on a Mass Pike overpass by local members of the American Legion.
If I were the judge when these vandals were caught and charged, I'd have them cleaning latrines at veterans hospitals for the next year.
But this is just the the most recent assault on the honor and dignity of the flag.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kicked off the latest and lasting trend of disrespect when he deemed to take a knee during the national anthem
What kind of message does refusing to stand for the stars and stripes send — especially to young people? It says America — the greatest democracy on Earth that affords its citizens unparalleled liberty, equality and opportunity — isn’t worth our respect, nor are the heroes protecting it.
Defacing and disrespecting the flag also doesn’t honor our courageous troops currently serving overseas who are risking their lives in combat zones so the United States isn’t hit with another 9/11, Boston Marathon bombing or worse.
And of course there are the so called “social justice warriors” throughout the country who view the American flag as a symbol of oppression and everything else that’s wrong with the world. These misguided fools don’t realize that if it weren’t for the sacrifices made by our brave veterans and active military, they wouldn’t have the freedom to say those things.
Just look at what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia or Otto Warmbier in North Korea.
Their horrific deaths remind us we must never take America’s constitutionally enshrined freedoms for granted. Our brave veterans and unflinching military have shed blood protecting those very rights.
This Veterans Day and those that follow let us remember to teach our children this: “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it … it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” — Unknown In gratitude.