Log in

Bohline: Resident objects to inverted U.S. banner

Posted

As one of those other “people” (quotes are his) referenced in George Aschendorf’s letter (“People can hang flags on property”) a couple weeks ago, I take issue with his support of a neighbor flying the flag upside-down.

While doing so is his right, it is a lamentable example of how our First Amendment is abused.

Our country hasn’t experienced political division this palpable since the 1960s. President Richard Nixon’s autocratic administration fueled the dissension over Vietnam and civil rights. The Watergate debacle and his eventual resignation helped put it to rest. His legacy smolders in disgrace. Time will tell how history’s court will render the President Donald Trump record.

Political issues aren’t about right and wrong — they are differences of opinion. A critical task for the governance has always been finding ways to manage our differences and promote unity in these United States, a rich and powerful nation forged by generations of immigrant ancestors who embraced principles of freedom, democracy and free enterprise to build a remarkable union.

The intensity of an opinion doesn’t justify desecration of the symbol of that country of which most of us are proud, and all of us lucky, to be a part.

And it is the antithesis of what a senior community should project, where discretion and tolerance should be on display rather than base opinion.

David Bohline
Sun City West

flag, Old Glory