"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
While driving through my girlfriends neighborhood last week (leading up to Independence Day) I noticed this in a neighbors garden. As you can see, it is an American Flag purposely flown upside down. Now, my disgust immediately took over. However, before I knocked on their door and expressed my displeasure, I wanted to make sure what this actually meant....and here is why. You see, in my personal opinion, I look at this as a political statement. A statement that says "I am not patriotic, I am UN-American and I don't like America". But what is great about this country, the First Amendment gives us the freedom to do such an thing. However, earlier in the year I ran for County Commission in Knox County and was not allowed to put a political sign of mine in my girlfriends yard nor one of her neighbors. Here in lies my issue. What is free speech?
On the website, USFlag.org, they list the following with regards to proper etiquette of hanging an American flag.
"The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal."
So, by this, should I really be knocking on the door to see if everything is OK on the home front? Or is this a distress signal to America itself?
You could try to say I'm confused between a love of government vs. a love of our country. No, I'm not. I love my country and I love our government. Good, bad, or indifferent. What I do not love is the fact that one can express their ideals by hanging an American Flag upside down while I can't even put a sign in a yard before the election.
Noam Chomsky states that:
"If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise."
Now, I never really agree with Noam Chomsky but his far left ideas have a point here. In order to appreciate the First Amendment, you have to take the good with the bad. Although they may not be happy where America is right now, I still have to right to knock on their door, complain and call the head of the HOA and have it taken down....just like my sign!
1 comment:
I don't know if I could live in a neighborhood that wouldn't allow me to put up a campaign sign. That's just a weird and foreign concept to me. Limit them to N days before an election, maybe, but ban them? Pretty stupid.
Since everyone agreed to it, yeah, I think the flag was a backwards way of getting around it and unfair to the neighbors (can you put bumper stickers all over the back of your car and park it in the driveway?).
If it were me, I'd put up the doggone sign and make a First Amendment case and get the covenant annulled. Plenty of case law supporting the idea that it's impossible for you to fully waive your First Amendment rights if you are not being disruptive.
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