Why I Do Not Salute the American Flag

Being a student of history and a spiritual person, I have been given to consider recently the necessity of going through the rituals of standing and removing my hat during the playing of the national anthem.  History tells me that the early Quakers, feeling that everyone is equal in God’s eyes, deigned to remove their hats in the presence of the king.  Being a person of a spiritual rather than a secular frame of mind, I began to consider a few months ago if it was keeping with my spiritual being to stand and remove my hat during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.  I came to the conclusion that my spirituality meant more to me than an empty exercise.

                                                                                                                              

Being a Quaker who swears no oaths, I appeared in several trials in my career as an insurance claimsman and would only affirm--not swear--to tell the truth.  Likewise, I refuse to stand and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance.  I have only had one occasion in recent history where such was the case.  Recently, I attended a meeting of the Anna Maria, FL city council as an interested observer in an issue they were considering.  I was given no grief by anyone at my remaining seated.

Last week I was at my usual haunt—McKechnie Field in Bradenton—to attend a Bradenton Marauder’s baseball game.  When the time came for the national anthem, everyone was asked to stand and remove their hats whilst the anthem was being played.  I stood, but did not remove my hat, as has been my usual recent practice.  Afterwards, one of the ushers—a good friend of mine and retired Air Force colonel—came over to me and asked if I had forgotten to take my hat off.  Without thinking or measuring my words, I snapped back at him that I refuse to remove my hat for no body or no thing.  That really got under his skin and he told me that, in his opinion, I was a f*cking asshole and stormed off.  I tried to explain to him later, but he told me that he didn’t want to hear anything from me and it was all he could do to keep from putting his fist through my face.  Of course, it bothered me somewhat, because I think so highly of Jack.

A couple days later, at a July 4^th weekend game, I approached Jack about halfway through the game—wearing a patriotic hat with a American flag attached to it—and said to him that he may think of me as an asshole, but I wished he would at least think of me as a patriotic asshole.  He apologized to me for what he had said and I apologized to him for the way I had responded to his inquiry.  We shook hands, gave somewhat of a “man hug”, and I told him that I didn’t want to lose his friendship and we went about our business.  Later on during the game I was talking with one of the other ushers, when Jack passed by and gave me a poke in the belly with his finger.  I then knew we were back together as friends.

I, too, am an Air Force veteran and can understand Jack’s feelings of patriotism and why he feels that way.  He spent his career in the Air Force and I honor him for that.  To my mind, the old Vietnam War jingoistic chant of, “My country, right or wrong…” holds no water.  When my country is right I can live with that.  However, when my country is wrong, it’s my patriotic duty to change it.

But to insist that I must salute the flag by removing my hat, telling me I must recite a meaningless pledge to an inanimate object, or swear a vow that I disavow, I feel it is my right as a person NOT to engage in meaningless rituals.  In not doing such, I am being true to myself.  I need no one else’s approval.  I need only that approval that comes from within.

American Values in Question

Last night, as usual, I attended a Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates Advanced Class A affiliate) ballgame.  The game had been advertised as Military Heroes Night, recognizing 20 active duty and veteran service people.  I walked down Ninth Street to the main gate of McKechnie Field and, as I turned toward the gate I saw a giant inflatable quonset hut leading to the gate emblazoned with “GOARMY.COM” on the front.  Being a Quaker and pacifist, I started to do a slow boil since I had to walk through the damn thing to gain entry.

Once inside there was a table with Army recruiters handing out enlistment propaganda.  There were many people milling about, as it was also Craft Beer Night.  As I made my way through the crowd to my seat I came to realize that there were several military personnel about along with some recruits who were to be inducted.  I went over to talk with some friends about baseball and how the Marauders have been doing of late (fortunately, pretty well).  An announcement was made that the recruits were about to be sworn in, something I had no wish to observe or be a part of, so I made my way out of the stands and to one of the beer bars to get ready for the start of the game.

To digress a bit…  Early Quakers believed in equality the equality of persons before God.  Among the things they declined to do was to remove their hats in the presence of the king.  I have been thinking lately that perhaps I should follow suit and decline to remove my hat during the playing of the national anthem before each game.  As one who opposes the swearing of oath, an original tenant of Quakerism—that integrity of one does not need to swear to tell the truth.  Akin to this is that we disdain the honoring of one person or thing above another.  As such, I refuse to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Similarly, I question if I should stand and remove my hat (as directed) during the Star Spangled Banner.  Last night, when the anthem was sung, I decided it was time to make my stand against all the militarism that was present.  I did not take my hat off nor did I stand erect.  I merely slouched against the bar awaiting the end of the song and the start of the ballgame.

I have come to a point in my life when I am questioning the values of the United States.  We no longer live in a democracy but in an oligarchy with those with the money calling the shots.  Congress is bought and paid for by the 1% and does everything in its power to maintain that imbalance.  Congress authorizes—many times against the wants and desires of the military—weapons systems that are neither wanted nor needed; they authorize the building of airplanes that either do not work as promised or are immediately mothballed.  To make matters worse, Congress refuses to allocate money to take care of wounded veterans or those suffering from PTSD.  I shudder to think of what might befall any of the recruits that were inducted into the Army last night.

Congress will do nothing to address the rise in gun-related violence, despite the call by the vast majority of Americans to do something.  The NRA has taken over and quashed the discussion about reasonable gun control legislation.  From Columbine, to VA Tech, to Sandy Hook, to Aurora, to Ft. Hood, to Umpqua Community College in Oregon, and now to Orlando.  “How many deaths will it take ‘til we know that too many people have died?”  It is so damn ridiculous to know that persons on the “No-Fly List” are not on the “No-Buy List”—that such persons, if legally qualified otherwise, can purchase firearms, from a .22 pistol to an AR-15 assault rifle.

WHEN IS AMERICA GOING TO WAKE UP AND THROW THE RASCALS OUT WHO PERMIT SUCH ENABLING LEGISLATION TO ENDURE?  “The answer, my friend…”

Memorial Day—What Does It Mean?

I, along with many other people, get a bit upset that Memorial Day has lost its meaning.  The first Memorial Day was organized by ex-slaves in Charleston, SC on May 1, 1865 to recognize and honor the dead Union forces that were killed so that they might live in freedom.

Nowadays, people tend to confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day, reaping platitudes on their fathers and others who served in various wars—people who are still living and were not killed during wartime.  Memorial Day is set aside to honor the ones killed so that we might also live in freedom.  Worse yet are those who commercialize the day with their sales; any excuse for a sale.  This past Friday there was an ad in one of the local papers that went:

 "Pamaro Shop Furniture Remembers Our Nation's HEROES who paid the Ultimate Sacrifice So That We May Live Free... 40% off All Furniture in Stock..."

How tacky is that???  I don’t care what any merchant is selling, be it furniture, mattresses, cars, or whatever…   Memorial Day is apparently a day set aside to honor all who died so that merchants can have their damn sales!

I have a special connection with one of those who lost his life in service to his country.  My Dad’s brother, William, was killed in a plane crash in Australia—the deadliest airplane crash in Australian history.  He was returning from R&R to New Guinea when the B-17, which was being used as a troop transport, crashed at Baker’s Creek in Queensland on June 14^th, 1943 and I was born nine months later on March 17^th, 1944.  According to Dad, I was conceived the night they got the news of Uncle William’s death (“the train lurched”, Dad used to joke).  Dad was stationed at Ft. Lee in Petersburg, VA.  He and Mom were returning to hometown Huntington, WV.  (As an aside, Dad was born on a train and I apparently was conceived on one, both on the Norfolk and Western Railroad--I never made the psychic connection until now).

Anyway, we moved to the Washington, DC area in 1954 and every Memorial Day (May 30^th in those days) Grandma and Grandpa Hilsheimer would come to our house and we’d go to Arlington Cemetery to place flowers on William’s grave.  I miss those days.  I miss Grandma and Grandpa.  I miss Mom and Dad.  I also very much miss the time I could have had with Uncle William…

My wish is that Memorial Day will be recognized and revered for what it is—a day of remembrance of those lost to the vagaries of war.  May the time come that war will be no more and that no more Memorial Days will be needed.

What Happened to North Carolina?

Fifty-four years ago I was considering where to attend college.  I had explored colleges in Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina.  While I considered Wisconsin and North Carolina to be the most progressive of states, Wisconsin was much too far away, so I settled on one of the fine fifty-two excellent colleges on the Tar Heel State--North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount (as an aside, I was blessed to marry a Wisconsin girl and spend my career in the Badger State).

I enrolled at NCWC in 1963 and found that there were still some vestiges of racism and conservatism remaining in the area but, by and large, things were fairly tranquil.  After attending church each Sunday morning,  it was the habit of other students and me to stop by a nearby cafe for a cup of coffee or a Coke before heading back to campus.  One morning however, service was refused to one of our fellow students, Helen Chestnut, a full-blooded Cherokee whose skin was "too dark" for her to be served.  Helen was a beautiful co-ed--both inside and out--who didn't want to make an issue of the situation.  As for the rest of us, we decided then and there, that if she couldn't be served we would not favor them with our patronage.  At some point--possibly 1964-65--the Ku Klux Klan came to town and held a rally in an area farm field.  I had no interest in going, but several of my college buddies--some of them native Tar Heels--went and hooted and harassed those in attendance from the surrounding woods.  They were chased from the area by armed assholes, which made me glad I decided to stay on campus.  At another time, Oral Roberts was holding one of his patented tent revivals, at which some of my buddies got "saved and healed" by the "Oralmeister", himself.  Such was the life of a bunch of college friends who were exploring more liberal ideas and ideals outside their traditional bringing up.

My term at NCWC was interrupted by the Vietnam War, as I was faced with a possible draft notice after my junior year.  I opted to join the Air Force, picking up a semester's worth of college credits and returning in fall 1970 to complete my degree.  Still, I regarded North Carolina as a progressive state, insofar as southern states went.

However, that bubble soon burst.  Upon graduating and living in a central Wisconsin mill town, my news source was primarily the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite".  In 1973, firebrand conservative asswipe Jesse Helms--a former conservative commentator for one of the Raleigh TV stations--was elected to the U.S. Senate.  This guy was anti-civil rights, referring to the University of North Carolina (UNC) as the "University of Negroes and Communists".

In the meantime, ambulance chaser John Edwards won election to the Senate as a Democrat in 1998.  Things were looking up.  Hopefully, North Carolina was turning the page and getting ready for the 21st Century.  Unfortunately, such was not to be.  Helms retired from the Senate in 2003 and was replaced by (IMHO) moderately progressive Elizabeth Dole.  Although Dole was a bit less conservative than Helms, she served only one term until defeated by Democrat state senator Kay Hagan in 2008 who, then, was defeated by Republican Thom Tillis in 2014.

The downhill slide of North Carolina has continued, capped by yesterday's signing into law a draconian  measure, denying municipalities and other local governments from enacting laws prohibiting discrimination against lesbians, gays, and transgenders.  Hopefully, the tide will turn in this once wonderful state.  I am the eternal optimist but, as the fiftieth anniversary of my college class will occur next year, with the attendant Homecoming, I wonder if I should spend my good retirement money in a state that is so Middle Ages.  Time will  tell...

Sarasota Friends Meeting (Quakers) Minute in Support of Gun Control Lergislation

Quakers have a long history of opposing violence in any form and have made their feelings known through a series of resolutions, called "Minutes".  Minutes are agreed to by each Friends Meeting by, to use a secular term, consensus and can address a myriad of topics.

Subsequent to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in late 2012, the following Minute was adopted by the Sarasota Friends Meeting in February 2013:

MINUTE 1:02:13: We, members and attenders of the Sarasota Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), after prayerful reflection and thought, feel it incumbent on us to call upon Congress and the President to enact legislation to halt the production and sale of weapons that can be used to injure, maim and kill innocent people in a single instance.

As Quakers, we believe that there is that of God in every person and in particular, we eschew any violence directed at one human being by another.  We recognize that such is an unfortunate part of everyday life.  However, the instances of mass shootings have focused attention on the problem that our society and our lawmakers must address.  From the University of Texas, to Columbine, to Virginia Tech, to Fort Hood, to Aurora, to Newtown, the absence of meaningful gun control laws have allowed this national epidemic to gain a foothold.  We urge Congress to eschew the pressure and monies they receive from those in opposition to gun control and pass meaningful legislation to reduce if not eliminate these types of instances.

We recommend the following practical steps:•There must be universal background checks on all persons who wish to purchase a firearm, not only from licensed gun dealers, but also at gun shows and in sales between individuals.  Sellers who fail to do background checks should be held accountable for any damage, death, or injury caused by their purchaser;

• The manufacture, sale, and distribution of all assault-type weapons must be immediately and permanently banned;
• Explosive bullets such as those used by the Newtown shooter are banned by the Geneva Convention in international warfare but are legal in the U.S.  This type of ammunition should be banned.
• Likewise, any ammunition clip that holds more than a minimal number of bullets should be similarly banned.
• A fund must be established to aid local agencies in the buyback and destruction of guns, with particular emphasis on assault-type weapons.

We reject the proposal by some who feel the answer lies in the posting of armed guards in every school and the arming of all teachers. Adding guns raises the odds in favor of violence and does nothing to address the problem—that of keeping particularly deadly weapons out of the hands of irresponsible individuals.

We believe these reforms are in accord with the original and clear intent of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

On the Heels of Umpqua Community College

I sent the following email to 'my" Congressman, Vern Buchanan R-FL:

"Today, as in many todays of the past, we have suffered the tragedy of innocent persons being murdered by a person with firearms.  This has got to STOP!

"I have written you before on this subject, but it appears that my pleadings to you have fallen on deaf ears.  Don’t get me wrong.  I support the 2^nd Amendment rights of persons to “keep and bear arms”.  However, the responsible ownership of firearms MUST include background checks on ALL persons who wish to purchase arms—not only from gun shops, but also at gun shows and through private sales.  Not only should thorough background checks be done, but legislation should be enacted to make sure those who fail to do background checks be held liable for any injury or damage caused by the use of such firearms.

"How many Sandy Hooks, Auroras, VA Techs, or Umpqua Community Colleges must we suffer before something is done?  To hell with the NRA!  We are Americans and we should not be subject to the whims and wherefores of those who feel they should have their 15 minutes of fame at the expense of innocent persons…"

Reflections on Jimmy Carter

I was so saddened to learn this afternoon that Jimmy Carter is suffering from cancer.  The news came as quite a shock to me when Pam told me what she had seen on TV while on the phone with Linda.

Granted that, other than the Camp David peace accords, his presidency was one of the least productive and effective of any previous president.  However, he was and is an enduring man of peace. Not a single shot was fired in an aggressive act, other than during the failed hostage rescue attempt in Iran in 1980.  That was a situation he had been forced into because of his humane act of allowing the Shah to seek medical treatment for his cancer in the United States.

I first became aware of  Carter when he became governor of Georgia. He was such a breath of fresh air on the heels of world-class bigot, Lester Maddox.  Carter's quiet demeanor and even handedness were hallmarks of his administration.  When I learned he was seeking the Democratic nomination for President, I was quite excited about the prospect of a Washington outsider coming in and making things right after Nixon and his handpicked successor, Gerald Ford.  Don't get me wrong.  I think Ford did an admirable job, given the task he was handed and one of my favorite quotes was his speech from the Oval Office the evening he took office, "Our long national nightmare is over..."

But, with the election of Carter, I was very optimistic about the future.  Unfortunately, since he had no grasp of Washington politics, it soon became apparent he might be in over his head.  His head of the Office of Management and Budget, Bert Lance, had some skeletons in his closet that were exposed and it didn't take very long for him to head back to Georgia.  A lot of people in Washington were not enamored at all with Carter's casual approach nor of the wearing of casual clothes in the Oval Office.  His brother, Billy, didn't make things easier for him either.

However, his biggest triumph in Washington (perhaps his biggest ever) was the bringing together of Israel and Egypt into a peace agreement after close to two weeks in seclusion at Camp David with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.  His greatest mistake, other than failing to grasp the meaning of Washington politics and that such is the name of the game, was his humanitarian allowing the Shah of Iran to come to New York for treatment of the cancer that ultimately took his life.  Of course, this led to the Iranian Revolution with it's capturing of the U.S. Embassy and the holding of American hostages for 444 days.  His intentions were good, but he was obviously in over his head.

Even though he was defeated in a bid for a second term by Ronald Reagan, he did not sulk into privacy and hide from the world (much like one George W. Bush has done), but he went to work in an effort to make the world a much better place for all.  He became involved in and is the face of Habitat for Humanity, an organization founded by a longtime friend of his.  He founded the Carter Center, an organization that fosters hope, wages peace and fights diseases.  For this and for his peace work between Israel and Egypt, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

His dedication to his principles, to his church, and to his God have endeared him to many throughout the world--including this admirer.  To many he was a buffoon who did not deserve to be President. While I must admit his four years in office were not the greatest, there can be no doubt that he is the greatest ex-President we have ever had or probably ever will have.

May he forever rest in peace when his time comes.  He has certainly earned it.