Analysis, Commentary, Opinion
12.08.2018
Flag Folding
I
am a veteran, but I am not super patriotic.
I
am averse to jingoism in all of its forms.
I
haven’t stood for the national anthem since 911, and after the wars began in
Afghanistan and Iraq, because I am against the unconstitutional use of military
power.
I
am against torture. I am against the policies of extraordinary rendition, against
holding prisoners taken from the battlefield without extending to them the
protections that should be afforded to every human being who is under the aegis
of American power.
I
am against it.
But
I witnessed a simple little something last night that tugged at my heart
strings a little bit.
My
lady and I were at a local tavern; it was Friday night and we stepped out for a
burger and beer.
This
little bar, Pat’s Tap, it’s not a VFW, or an American Legion hall. It’s just a
bar that happens to have a flag pole out front, and the owner flies the flag
out front, both the Stars and Stripes, and the State flag of Minnesota.
The
owner of this place owns a number of bars and restaurants around town, and to
my knowledge this is the only with a flag pole.
The
flag pole came with the property, and she kept the custom of flying our flags here
intact.
We
arrived there at about sundown, and where we were seated, facing the door we
were able to watch as two of the staff members brought the flags down, carried
them carefully inside and gave them each a proper fold.
It
touched me.
Pat’s
Tap is just a neighborhood place, middle class, with decent food and games.
They
have Skee Ball, it’s vaguely a rock n’ roll place.
These
ladies brought the flags down, carried them in. They were careful to ensure
that they did not touch the floor. They folded it into a neat little triangle,
she said, “as the Scout manual instructed them too.”
I
asked her about it. She told me it was just what they did. She seemed happy to
talk about it, and proud for her part, in caring for the symbols of our nation
and our state.
It
made me feel good.
