Take the Flag Back Campaign (Community Service)
TAKE THE FLAG BACK CAMPAIGN I am proud of Barack Obama. I am proud of his campaign. I am proud of the excitement, energy and interest in the political system and our country’s issues that he’s be able to generate.
I am so proud that I’m going to start flying the flag on my house. I am so proud that I’m starting a movement to take the flag back. To de-weaponize the flag so it can’t be used by the cynics and opponents as a way to tell us who’s patriotic and who’s not based on how we stand on certain issues. Because if you’re going to call me unpatriotic, you better have something more than a flag to point to as your justification.
As one of our own Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt once said, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
And Barack Obama, in his speech in Colorado Springs on July 2, 2008, said this:
“Because time and again, Americans have been willing to serve on stages both great and small; to draw on the same spirit that launched America's improbable journey to meet the challenges of each defining moment in our history.
One of those moments came on September 11, 2001. Whether you lived in Manhattan or thousands of miles away in Colorado, you felt the pain and loss of that day not just as an individual, but as an American. You also felt pride - pride in the firefighters who rushed up the stairs while workers rushed down; pride in the police who provided comfort, and the neighbors who lent a hand; pride in your citizenship, and the tattered flag that flew at Ground Zero. That's why Americans lined up to give blood. That's why we held vigils and flew flags. That's why we rallied behind our President. We were ready to step into the strong current of history, and to answer a new call for our country. But the call never came.
Instead of a call to service, we were asked to go shopping. Instead of a call for shared sacrifice, we gave tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans in a time of war for the very first time in our history. Instead of leadership that called us to come together, we got patriotism defined as the property of one party, and used as a political wedge to take us into a war that should have never been authorized and never been waged.”
Because “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” (Howard Zinn), I’m starting a movement to TAKE THE FLAG BACK.
I call all Americans to hang a flag on your house by election day to show your pride in this country, to show that we believe the good in Americans, that we will turn our heads away from divisive politics and negative attacks. That we believe in compromise and understanding, even when there’s disagreement. And most of all, that we have Hope.
“We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.” – Barack Obama
TO PARTICIPATE:
First, sign up to this event
Second, if you don’t already have a flag, purchase and hang the United States Flag at your house between now and Election Day. Display it with pride and display it daily. If you already have a flag, continue to fly it daily!
Third, take a picture of your flag and the location of your house (city, state and country – no addresses please) and email it to taketheflagback@gmail.com. I’ll start posting the pictures and where we have the flags on the following website: http://sites.google.com/site/taketheflagback/
Fourth, please review the United States Flag Code to ensure proper respect is given to the flag we all love. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Flag_Code
Fifth, share this movement with friends and family and watch the flags pop up all over your neighborhoods, towns, cities and states – all across the country!
| Time: |
Thursday, September 4 12:00 PM |
| Host: |
Melissa Clymer |
| Location: |
Your Home, wherever you may live! (Colorado Springs, CO)
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
|
| Associated Groups: |
Colorado Springs for Obama, Help Obama Win |
17 people have signed up to attend this event.
