your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore (repeat by request)

(Amarillo, Texas) Nevertheless, I will wear my flag pin today. It's a harmless enough symbol of love and appreciation of the United States of America and her potential, even as the political, social, and actual landscape is blasted nearly beyond recognition.



However, this is not a holiday of blind patriotism. My son and fiancée laughed yesterday when they saw the songs I was putting on a disc for a holiday compilation. Mojo Nixon's version of "This Land is Your Land" was one of them. Also, "American Idiot". I explained that political protest is what this holiday is about. We're celebrating what was at the time an act of treason, for god's sake.

So, in that spirit, I'd like to state what my flag pin doesn't mean:

☺ It doesn't mean that I think that George Bush is a good Christian man.
☺ It doesn't mean that I think that Mac Thornberry is smart.
☺ It doesn't mean that Kay Bailey Hutchison should have advanced further in life than U.T. cheerleader.
☺ It doesn't mean that I even know who John Cornyn is.
☺ It doesn't mean that I support the war.
☺ It doesn't mean that I shop at Wal-Mart.
☺ It doesn't have anything to do with my religion.
☺ It doesn't mean that my goal in life is to get rich but still drive a pick-em-up truck.
☺ It doesn't mean that I'm white, straight, and male.
☺ It sure doesn't mean that I want to hear that Toby Keith song.
☺ It doesn't mean that I want to go shoot automatic weapons in an empty field in Oklahoma.
☺ It doesn't mean that I hate hate hate the Dixie Chicks.

So, perhaps, to pledge allegiance to the meaning behind the pretty piece of cloth, I will also wear this pin:



Remember that one? Those big words at the top say "We the People". That's kind of important, too.

spacedark