Different Americas

When I was a kid I was a Boy Scout.

As a Scout, I learned something called the Flag Code, which was established by Congress as guidelines for the display and treatment of the American Flag.

I’m not making this post to suggest anything like a personal shift in politics — I just want to illustrate the differences between what so many people think patriotism is and what we’ve technically codified as the “proper” way to celebrate it.

If you’re so inclined, take a look through the Code and see how many violations of this are being perpetrated by today’s “patriots:”

Flag Code of the USA

It’s another example, to me, of how there are many “myths” of what it means to be American — and how many of them are based on incomplete or incorrect information.

People forget that Mother Jones and the Wobblies are as representative of American history as Ronald Reagan and the Young Republicans.
Dissent is an American tradition. Opposition to immoral policies is as American as…well, apple pie. Organic apple pie, of course…