Wrapped in the Flag – OUT OF CONTROL

Wrapped in the Flag – OUT OF CONTROL

by Robert L. Hanafin, Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired 

Before sharing my opinion of those who wrap themselves in ‘our’ American Flag, I am talking about the real thing – Old Glory, not some ‘image’ of our National Banner on a T-Shirt intended for retail sales by some petty War Profiteer, let me first make it extremely clear that anyone who knows me will tell you that I would be the last person to ‘volunteer’ for THE FLAG POLICE.

Given my passionate oppositon to that diversion from Mandatory Funding of the VA, by the stagnant leadership of Nationalistic Organizations like the American Legion and VFW, the infamous Flag Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Yep, I would be the last Veteran on your block to be monitoring what you do or do not do with ‘your’ flag.

Does that mean that I condone desecration of Old Glory in any way, shape or form? NO! That said, the next time anyone at your local Bar and Bingo club tries to convince you that the U.S. Flag needs protection by an amendment to the Constitution, please tell them that (1) is not America’s Veterans number one priority need or desire, and (2) there are more ways to desecrate the American Flag than burning, ripping, tearing, or throwing Chicken Hawk droppings on it…

What am I talking about when I get upset with ultra right-wing nuts taking it to the limit, making an Art out of, and obsession with wrapping themselves in the Flag. In all honesty, I sincerely do not believe this was intentional – just downright IGNORANCE!

This newspaper ad appeared in our local, small town gossip rag here in Beavercreek, the B…creek News-Current, with little retail sales or journalistic savvy, and surely knowing nothing about Flag Etiquette published this ad. The photo from public domain is the closest example I could find to make a point. To barrow a phrase, I’ll report – You Decide!

What is WRONG with this picture. 

You can give our troops a little piece of home.

Tobias Funeral Home makes it easy. 

We all want the same thing, for our troops servingabroad to come back home safely. To help give the troops a little taste of home until then, Tobias Funeral Home is offering a program where you can provide items for a care package (such as toiletries, food and clothing), and to make it easier we’ll supply the box, customs form, instructions and pay for shipping.

Step 1. Drop by to get a starter kit complete with box, customs form and instructions.

Step 2. Fill the box with your choice of approved goodies and complete the customs form. (The ad does not detail nor describe what exactly approved goodies means, so one has to call them, and that will not be ME!)

Step 3. Return the box and customs form to us between 12/4-12/6 (2007) and we’ll take care of shipping.

(That means folks have to provide a name and address to some GI serving in Iraq or Afghanistan to a Funeral Home that frankly is not authorized to have such info as location of any of our troops – DAH).

Please contact Tobias Funeral Home if you would like to show your support for the troops by participating.

********************END OF AD***************************** Except for the parts I highlighted with my few comments on the ad, this Funeral Home Wrapped in our Flag come on is exactly as appeared in our  biased Hometown Newspaper in Southwestern Ohio.

OK – I reported now YOU DECIDE if the American Legion, VFW, plus any other Nationalistic organization needs to include this kind of petty War Profiteering in ‘their’ definition of Flag Desecration?

It should be! However, I still would oppose it.

Update: Shorty after posting this article back in November 2007, the ad was discontinued.

What I’m talking about is how a sincere Patriot protects and defends Old Glory without being the Flag Police. You take ACTION regardless the consequences when you see that something is clearly WRONG!

My military families first reaction was what next?

Seriously, a few combat troops serving in the War Zone may deem this appropriate, however it is Sexist, and just because the little girl in the Funeral Home ad above has not blossomed yet does not make throwing Old Glory around either a young girl or woman any less desecrating to the Flag. Thus the next time any Veterans Organization wants to convince you that WE need a Flag Amendment, by all means PLEASE ensure the leadership of that VSO understands, and LEAD instead of making political hay.

Demand that corporate and retail sales come ads in bad taste are included within those requiring prosecution for Flag Desecration.

Nope that will not fly, because some Veteran Service Organizations make just as much ‘patriotic profit’ off flag desecration as this Funeral Home is trying to do, except they do not use sexy models or little girls wrapped in Old Glory. That does not make them any less vulnerable to charges of Flag desecration, so they just best revise their logos and patriotic retail sales line items to take off all inappropriate images exploiting ‘our’ American Flag.

That frankly is the main reason I am against any Flag Amendment, because those hypocrites that push such a travesty to Freedom of Expression are guilty to the extreme of doing exactly what they want outlawed. You see I am among Veterans that believe Flag Desecration goes far beyond burning, or anything done to the flag in protest or distress.

Those who know me will be shocked by my semi-polite response to the Funeral Home it was really intended to be sarcastic and satire. Let it be written that, “After we came down from the ceiling, at least I (a Veteran of two war eras) regained my calm, cool, composure.  I decided that instead of getting upset with the management of Tobias Funeral Home for not knowing any better, because that will only get us nowhere, so I choose to contact you and politely ask you in a nice way to remove that ad or at least get the little girl wrapped in Old Glory off your ad pitch.

Someone at Tobias really does not have a clue about U.S. Flag Etiquette, sensitivity to seriously sharing the burden and hardship of military families, nor understands how our military family support system that includes Commissary and Base Exchange outlets has always worked really hard to ‘Support Our Troops,’ because that has been their in-house commitment for decades before, during, and will be after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Frankly, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and Defense Commissary Service do wonderful jobs, especially during wartime, and particularly during the Christmas Shopping Season (not my preferred view of X-Mas but the truth). In fact, we have both Commissary and BX, PX outlets in the combat zones with civilian volunteers and local Nationals, putting their lives in harms way along with our troops.

With all this unsolicited support from corporate America, why would we need to have these ‘civilians’ place themselves in harms way? If you really want to support our troops than volunteer to deliver your care package personally to Iraq and Afghanistan.

To be honest with you, your intent to send care packages from your ‘Funeral Home’ is taken ‘by my Military family’ as meaning well, but unsolicited packages do not get priority in the official Military Postal system, end up in a Warehouse rotting away, or are preferable given to poor Iraqi families that need ‘care packages’ more than our troops do.

I do not say this to offend your good intentions, on the contrary, it is commendable, however as the family member of a Soldier having been to Iraq, I personally know that our troops prefer to give what they receive ‘from family and close friends’ to poor Iraqi families, especially children. Think about it, if our troops prefer to do that with what they receive from intimate relations and love ones,  what do you believe they are going to do with anything you – a stranger, and Funeral Home at that, even if the packages got through to them?

I am only being a good neighbor by informing you that some Military Families in the Beavercreek reading area may take offense to how your intent is depicted. In fact, someone at the ‘ad payment’ collection section of the Beavercreek News-Current paper outlet should have advised your company to change the image to reflect one of the local military families endorsing your effort, for example.

Evidently whoever approved this ad for publication also has no sensitivity to military families nor took the time to consider Flag Etiquette, or they would have given you the proper advice to enhance your presentation.

If I may offer a humble suggestion, did whoever planned this appreciative gesture at Tobias Funeral Home check with the local Beavercreek American Legion or VFW to inquire about the appropriateness of having a child wrap the U.S. Flag around them for a newspaper ad from a Funeral Home, regardless what the intent or motivation was?

That is what I would have done before having that advertisement from your funeral home published in any media. In fact, you may expect to receive some concern from both those organizations, and others that have passionately pushed an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that could possible result in you being prosecuted for what you have done in that ad IF that bill had ever passed the U.S. Congress.

In closing, my intend is to inform and educate you, in a polite manner, and in a nice way about just how ‘inappropriate’ asking that ad be published seriously is, and the editorial board at our local newspaper evidently lacks the intellect, retail sales, or journalistic savvy to do right by your gesture, especially if you paid to have the ad published. I would ask for your money back. The Beavercreek News-Current has done both Tobias Funeral Home and the Military Families of the area a great disservice by not professionally advising your business on ad content.

I hope and pray that this commentary is taken in the spirit intended. By all means your gesture is appreciated by our Soldier in Iraq even if he/she is going to give anything you send to the poor families and children of Iraq. Frankly, that extends your gesture one step further and is more meaningful to the War effort. PLEASE quietly revise your ad.

Please understand that this is not meant as an affront to your Funeral Home, but is intended to protect the security of our troops.

Robert L. Hanafin

Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired

Robert L. Hanafin

Readers are more than welcome to use the articles I’ve posted on Veterans Today, I’ve had to take a break from VT as Veterans Issues and Peace Activism Editor and staff writer due to personal medical reasons in our military family that take away too much time needed to properly express future stories or respond to readers in a timely manner.

My association with VT since its founding in 2004 has been a very rewarding experience for me.

Retired from both the Air Force and Civil Service. Went in the regular Army at 17 during Vietnam (1968), stayed in the Army Reserve to complete my eight year commitment in 1976. Served in Air Defense Artillery, and a Mechanized Infantry Division (4MID) at Fort Carson, Co. Used the GI Bill to go to college, worked full time at the VA, and non-scholarship Air Force 2-Year ROTC program for prior service military. Commissioned in the Air Force in 1977. Served as a Military Intelligence Officer from 1977 to 1994. Upon retirement I entered retail drugstore management training with Safeway Drugs Stores in California. Retail Sales Management was not my cup of tea, so I applied my former U.S. Civil Service status with the VA to get my foot in the door at the Justice Department, and later Department of the Navy retiring with disability from the Civil Service in 2000.

I’ve been with Veterans Today since the site originated. I’m now on the Editorial Board. I was also on the Editorial Board of Our Troops News Ladder another progressive leaning Veterans and Military Family news clearing house.

I remain married for over 45 years. I am both a Vietnam Era and Gulf War Veteran. I served on Okinawa and Fort Carson, Colorado during Vietnam and in the Office of the Air Force Inspector General at Norton AFB, CA during Desert Storm. I retired from the Air Force in 1994 having worked on the Air Staff and Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon.