Bizarro is brought to you today by the Narrow-Minded Nitwits Institute of Misinformation. "We distort, you decide."The flag pin issue is one of my pet peeves. In fact, anything to do with flags drives me batty.
Every time the self-proclaimed super patriots try to pass the flag desecration amendment, as the did back in the eighties, and again in the nineties, and again in the '00s, I just shake my head and wonder. Confusing the principals this country was founded on for the graphic symbol that symbolizes them is not just idiotic, in my opinion, but dangerous. As soon as you turn the flag into a holy relic, you leave behind the principals it stands for.
Currently, we have a nation full of people who believe that plastering their bodies, cars, and homes with a graphic symbol is the single most important thing they can do to help soldiers being shot at half a world away. Getting them out of the line of fire never occurs to them. Voting for politicians who are willing to say the emperor has no clothes is unthinkable. More flags, we need more flags. God bless our holy design.
Here is a cartoon I did a while ago about the same subject.
16 comments:
Right on, Mr. Piraro! It is a dream of mine (and a friend of mine) to go to Washington, burn a copy of The Constitution on the steps of the Capitol, and see if anyone cares. We know the answer, but it would still be so much fun to do, since the Constitution means so much more to us than does the flag.
If I believed in some sort of god, I would ask Her to bless John Prine for writing the following words:
Your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore / They're already overcrowded from your dirty little war / Now Jesus don't like killin' no matter what the reason's for / And your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore.
Bob Dole is not amused!
My cousin and I were getting annoyed by all the ribbons on everyone's vehicles because it seemed like people were getting them just because it was the thing to do and not because they really cared what they stood for. I feel similarly about flags and crosses.
Since the emperor has no clothes, he wrapped himself in a flag.
I often wonder about the self-styled "patriots" who fly little flags from the plastic flagstaffs stuck on the doors of their SUVs until they're tattered gray rags. Would they feel the same about it if a soldier in dress uniform handed them a brand new, nicely-folded flag fresh off the casket of their son/daughter?
The best part of the joke: If the guy was hounded for wearing nothing but a flag pin...where'd he pin it?
Ahh yes. But I do notice now that your man is wearing the pin again. Wonder why?
Melissa,
I was wondering the same thing. Where did this guy place the flag pin? I'm only hoping it wasn't being displayed at the top of a pole.
I loved Scott Adams' take on this. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like "I guess some people like their symbols of freedom to have as many restrictions as possible."
Two hilarious cartoons.
I remember people placing flags on their car radio antennas after 9/11. A month later, the flags were all dirty and torn and ragged from blowing in the wind while people drove 95 miles an hour on the New Jersey Turnpike. But no one took them off for another three months! Such respect for the national symbol!
Patriotism is a very dangerous thing as well as Pacifism. Humility helps as long you have a big fucking stick!
Now, a cup of tea if you please, just a dab of milk, I'm thirsty.
*sigh*, Melissa beat me to the "where'd he stick it?" comment.
Right after 9/11, I considered drawing a comic where somebody was wearing a shirt with the anarchy symbol emblazened on the front, and getting all sorts of weird looks from the flag-wearing civilians walking around him. Anarchy shirts used to be popular. At that time, though, EVERYBODY was wearing flag shirts!
The only thing that kept me from drawing it was that I didn't have a comic going yet.
agreed and agreed.
on memorial day this year, i was talking casually to my dad and he asked me if i "put my flag out" as if it has always been a tradition of mine (which it has NEVER been). i said "well, no. i don't have a flag, and putting one out in my lawn isn't going to prove my own personal patriotism.. etc" and he was kinda thrown back by it. he said "well, i just put mine up! i'm a veteran yunno, so i like to fly the flag in support of the country and etc.. blah blah about patriotism."
it's so crazy that we get chastized for not flying our "true colors," yet, the people who choose to wave their freedom all over the place are the ones taking it away from us... and i hate those bumper stickers/signs/whatever that say "these colors don't run." fuck that. PULLING OUT OF AN UNJUST WAR IS NOT RUNNING! IT'S ETHICAL, HONEST, AND NOT-IN-ANY-WAY A SIGN OF WEAKNESS! goddam! anyhoo, great post. way to get us all fired up! AMERICA- FUCK YEA! coming to you to save the MOTHERFUCKING DAY, YEA! 'team america' was a perfect example of blind patriotism.
I particularly like how you address the principals this country and flag stand up for. Who knew they were so fond of schoolmasters?
Sorry, I nitpick. God, how I nitpick.
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