On Memorial Day, I checked my favorite (nominally) private Facebook group for some local news. There are three complaints about flags: two about a cemetery that isn’t illuminating the flag at night and one about the huge flag that used to fly over the RV dealership being down because it’s out for repairs.
Look, I get it. People care about this sort of thing. But this is another example of the phenomenon that we call Slacktivism. It’s not exactly the same thing, obviously… but it’s in the same small misled wheelhouse. It’s almost the least a person can do.
On Memorial Day, we are meant to remember and honor those who have given their lives for this country. This particular Memorial Day I am sending a strong thank you to the veterans who assembled at Standing Rock, even though the coming of the Trump era resulted in Standing Rock getting abused. I still respect the hell out of the aging vets who stood in front of the police and reminded America that some people still care about such issues.
Interestingly enough, I’m just going to leave this here.
But this Memorial Day, there are real issues. It’s not with whether or not there’s a light on a flag or whether the free-hot-dogs and cokes RV power-broker’s flag is in the air. We have a President who might or might not be giving secrets to the Russians (when I was growing up, the Russians were the bad guys we feared the most). There are bills in Congress and budgets on the table that will rip away medical care and living expenses from those who are in the most need. Apparently the speaker of the house thinks that free school lunches hurt the soul.
Yes, we need to shine a light on something, but it’s not a flag in a cemetery. The dead know we respect them. They don’t need a halogen bulb in tribute.
Shine a light on the people pissing all over everything America stands for.
If you care about the legacy of our fallen veterans, DO SOMETHING about the mess our country is in. Give time and money to make the VA better. Stand up for what you believe in.
If all you can do is bitch on social media about the status of flags in your community, congratulations on being part of the problem.