Flag Day

Today, June 14 is apparently Flag Day. According to the "Today in History" the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the national flag in 1777, and the words "under God," were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. The Pledge was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892. Bellamy was a Baptist minister but the real surprise for many people is that he also described himself as a socialist. Wonder what the tea party folks would think?
The other flag related event which happened today was that the Supreme Court issued its ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v Barnette in 1943. My guess is they timed it for the day since it had to do with the flag and the pledge of allegiance. In the case the Supreme Court ruled that States and schools could not require students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The case revolved around some folks who were Jehovah Witnesses who did not want their children to say the Pledge or to salute the flag as they said it was idolatrous. Needless to say this irritated lots of people and the case made its way to the Supreme Court. The Justices pointed out that one could not force or demand allegiance, especially in a democracy.
Last week Goshen College, a Mennonite college in Indiana, decided that after playing the Star Spangled Banner before athletic events for a year that they would discontinue doing so this fall. Prior to last year they hadn't played the anthem before sporting events. A lot of folks I know were surprised the college changed its position and as might be expected the decision has caused a lot of wailing and moaning in some circles. Accusations are made that the college is unpatriotic, that the decision disrespects all the soldiers who fought and died, and on and on.
What I would argue is that the decision to not play the anthem, especially in the face of such harsh criticism, is in itself an act of great patriotism. What does the freedom of speech and expression mean if people never say anything controversial? Somewhat related, the Supreme Courts ruling in Barnette pointed out that our guaranteed freedom of expression also gives the right to not have to express things, in this case, the anthem, or for some, the Pledge of Allegiance.
The school where I work does not have a flag and does not play the anthem before athletic events. After being penalized for some years by the state athletic associations, it was suggested that they were violating the constitution. After further discussion, their disciplinary actions were rescinded. If you go back to the beginnings of the school, one reason it was started was so that Mennonite youths would not have to be subjected to the strong patriotism in the years following World War II.
The school now attracts a fair number of "other than Mennonite" students. Somewhere along the way they occasionally realize their isn't a flag, anthem, or pledge. Some will ask, a few have sort of protested, but most come to an understanding of the schools position, especially if we have done a decent job of exposing them to some of the traditional Mennonite ideas about how we relate to the State. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, especially for the folks at Goshen who are facing lots of criticism both locally and nationally.

Republican debate June 2011

I sat through the Republican debate tonight. It helped that I had taken a Vicodin because I had a tooth pulled earlier in the day. Otherwise I doubt I could have made myself sit through the two hour event.
By now I had hoped that I would have had the chance to see a couple of the candidates when they come to Iowa but so far my rules haven't been met. I don't want to drive any farther than Iowa City/Coralville or Washington, though in special circumstances I might consider a drive to Cedar Rapids or Muscatine. I won't go to any fundraisers and I won't take off work. A few have made their way to Iowa City but it was still while I was in school and coaching so it didn't work. As far as I know none of them have made their way to Washington.
According to the guys on TV, Michelle Bachman was the winner with Romney doing well and Gingrich keeping his campaign alive. I don't see any of the three doing particularly well in Iowa. Like it or not the Iowa Republican party is controlled by religious conservatives and all three have some problems. Gingrich has some moral issues to deal with plus his Iowa adviser's all resigned last week. Romney is Mormon, a problem for many of the religious fundamentalists, plus he comes across as a bit too slick for many Iowan's. Bachman's problem is that she is female and Iowa has yet to elect a woman as a governor or to the US House or Senate. Maybe some of the religious and social conservatives will surprise me but I think many would prefer to vote for a male.
The other four on the stage, Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum were there. Pawlenty and Santorum should do well among the Iowa Republicans, Paul could do well especially if he can figure out a way to get young folks to attend the caucus. Cain is there, sort of the Al Sharpton, or the African-American Republican candidate from a couple of years ago. Apparently the vicodin is kicking in and I can't remember his name.
That leaves Pawlenty and Santorum as the two likely to win the caucus in Iowa, at least at this point. Both will try to out conservative the other and tout their desire to cut taxes and government. If tonight is any indication they will bash Obama on the economy but when pressed for specifics they will switch to issues like abortion, gay marriage, and "keeping our country strong." If that sounds cynical,its because I am.