America haters should try burning the flag of a totalitarian country or terrorist group – they would find their freedom, bravado or life not lasting very long. You do not gain respect or credibility calling for rights, while simultaneously destroying symbols representative of that idea of liberty. Frankly, I never have understood the argument advocating the freedom to burn the flag; why would you destroy something representative of that freedom other than for disdain of that idea? Like terrorists who love burning the American flag because it represents everything they despise, America haters similarly truly do not believe in those ideals. I have loved many things in my life – women, animals, food – but I have never thought, “You know what? I should burn this to show my love and gratitude.”
President Obama came into office under the auspice of “hope and change”; he was going to unite and remake the United States, not to mention the world, in his image and ideology. Instead, he has made the country more divisive, more hostile and less patriotic, while both it and the world continue to burn and crumble around his failures as a leader. Between the continuous global apology tour, retreat from our enemies and a general insincerity toward national security – not to mention the innumerable scandals and executive overreach that would make Richard Nixon both applaud and blush – we have seen damaging change and less hope over the past six years. Perhaps that indeed was his plan all along. Is it little wonder then that the American flag is burned and the ideals for which it stands trampled on the streets of America under such a presidency?
©2014 Steve Sagarra