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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

probably the only time I'll ever talk about this...

So, I had a rough day today... work was stressful (after two days of no stress... heaven forbid i have an entire good week!) & bootcamp was hard (i know, i know - WHINE!) & then Randy was mean to Haley on idol (it wasn't my fave performance either but did he have to go on & on & on & ON??? Really?) Anyway


After Idol, i got on FB to see what people had to say about Lady Gaga (that woman is just WEIRD!) & discovered (FB seems to be my news source lately) that some kid wanted to burn an American flag on LSU campus today. He didn't get permission to do it so he was going to read a poem instead...but people thought he was going to do it...because apparently he had a facebook invite or something going on that was called "Flag Burning at LSU" (that really wasn't it, but it's close enough). So a mob formed & they yelled & screamed at him & he never got to read his poem... & ever since watching the video, i've been a lot disturbed. For one, i LOVE that LSU students were ticked at this guy, but i wish they would have just formed a silent protest & marched him right off campus. Instead they shouted the f-bomb & called him hippie & yelled other insults. Which honestly... I really have ZERO respect for that guy. It's just that they sounded kinda dumb. I think just being silent & marching him off would have been a lot more effective. I'm not surprised though!

But really...that's the least of my concerns. Mostly, i'm just horrified at this guy. I mean...really? I do not understand people who act like this at ALL. If you're against war, FINE. But doing things like burning flags (or just requesting to) is offensive. And why do you live here again? Because people paid for your freedom. There are some men & women who paid a very high price for the freedoms that you experience everyday. I don't know the guy, though. So whatever. To me he's just some random weirdo who doesn't have a lot of brains (just being honest... there are a lot of reasons i'm not sure of his intelligence, but that's not what this post is about). 

But you know who offends me? The people who are practically bending over backwards to support this guy! People i KNOW! Either in their own FB statuses or in a comment to someone else's! Appalling! Can someone tell me WHY they are standing up for him?

Please do not say it's his right to free speech! I don't care about his rights! What i care about is - why are people so quick to support this guy? Why are they so quick to take their own freedoms for granted!?

I'm not saying that LSU students chose the most effective way to get this kid to shut up (though i guess it WAS effective...since he never did get to read his speech! But throwing stuff at him & calling him names isn't my favorite thing...). What I am saying is...HOW could you be OKAY with someone WANTING to burn the AMERICAN FLAG on your campus??!?! 

I really do not think you are as smart as you think you are. And i say that because so many of the people i know trying to stand up for him are smart people. They are studying scary subjects & making A's & they're going to be engineers or therapists or professors. They're anti-war & pro-peace but they miss the mark, not understanding that sometimes it takes war to make peace. They are the same people who put up holier-than-thou statuses on FB about how we shouldn't rejoice that Obama is dead. (Sorry... I rejoiced - not because he is burning in hell - & certainly not because i think that the war on terror is "over" - but because Osama Bin Laden is DEAD!  HELLO?!?!) (Thank you, Navy Seals, whoever you are.) As a matter of fact, since i'm on this topic, PLEASE go read Callie's post about why it's okay to rejoice about his death. It perfectly explains the truth of the matter (biblically).

Anyway. My point is that i do NOT at all understand people who are trying to support Benjamin Haas. It's a bit ridiculous. And it's very offensive to others that you are okay with this. It's offensive to me. But i know it's even more offensive to others - people whose grandfathers, fathers, brothers, husbands, sisters, cousins & friends fought for our freedom! You're basically slapping them in the face. 

It is remarkable to me how people so quickly stand up for things they REALLY & TRULY know very little about (they think they are experts, but truly they are missing the point) - they do this in the name of "love" & "peace" & yet they are perfectly willing to slap you in the face with their words at the same time. It is offensive. And honestly... I'm kind of scared at what this world is coming to. Where men & women selflessly go into the battlefield, risking their lives, for YOUR freedom - & then you slap them in the face by saying what they are doing is wrong or that burning the very thing that symbolizes everything this country stands for is okay!

I don't know what i'm saying anymore. And honestly - I really hate politics. i don't like to start debates... I don't mind talking about serious stuff, but if it gets too controversial, well... i just would rather it be on someone else's facebook wall or blog & not mine. I don't know why this is & I'm sure it's probably a bad thing - But i'm just being honest with you. I don't like to post about things like this at ALL. I fear someone reading it & hating me. But then i think - you know - the people that would be offended by this post are the same ones who ALWAYS write exactlywhat they think on their facebooks & in their blogs! So why can't I? Why do I have to be quiet, because my opinion is different from theirs? 

I'm sorry but i just couldn't let this one go. If you're standing up for Benjamin Haase & others like him, go for it. But excuse me while I stand up for those who have sacrificed so much for YOUR freedom.

RANT OVER.

I feel better now. Can i do these more often?

6 comments:

  1. Hey girl! I agree with you on all accounts. I hate talking about politics and getting into debates with people. I also don't understand flag burning and such (hey, if he doesn't want to live here... he's FREE to leave), but don't think it makes anything better to throw things and berate him either. Sometimes FB and blogs just make people feel free to say say whatever, whenever, not thinking of the consequences of their actions. Even though you can say something, doesn't mean you SHOULD. Even these people you know defending him. Don't they understand what defending him will do to THEIR reputations? Ugh, people!

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  2. That's awesome that the students rallied to shut him up. (I agree with you about the method used of course but hooray all the same!)

    Just read that post about Bin Laden that you linked... liked it! Also... I know I was proud and had a little celebration in my heart. I wasn't celebrating a death, I was celebrating everything it represented... justice, victory, America. I was a little thrown off that people were being so serious about it, in the name of Christianity... but then they probably all went and gossiped or sinned in some other way. Be careful when you judge! :)

    And I don't like talking politics either so I'm outta here! haha.

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  3. I completely agree with you, Melissa! Why on EARTH any American would support someone who wants to burn the American flag, with everything it symbolizes, is beyond me. It's scary to think about what our country is coming to when something like that is okay.
    And I know what you mean about not liking to get into controversial topics - but sometimes I just feel like something HAS to be said. And if the good people stay silent, what will become of us? Good for you for writing this post anyway!

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  4. You know, it is possible to both support the troops and be eternally grateful for their sacrifice, and be willing to admit that burning a flag isn't an illegal act, and is protected by the very men and women in uniform you respect.

    I have a cousin who has finished two tours (one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan). Some random guy burning a flag doesn't mean squat about my brave cousin or his comrades. It's a guy looking for attention, just like the idiot who burned a Koran. Being an American means we should be able to disagree without resorting to throwing objects and f-bombs at someone who wants to do something distasteful.

    What is that famous quote? "I hate what he says, but will defend to the death his right to say it." That is what the troops are doing, and I am so proud of them for it.

    For me, the flag is a powerful symbol, but not an idol to worship. Just like you don't worship the church building itself, or the physical Bible, because that isn't Christianity, don't worship the flag and say that anyone who burns it has desecrated something beyond repair. Being a proud American is something you carry inside, and not something that can be damaged or taken away when a flag is burned. Do I like flag burning? No. Do I accept that part of being American is allowing someone to burn the flag in protest? Yes.

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  5. I love this post! So REAL, so YOU, so AMERICAN!

    I agree that silent protest is the best option and facebook friends have appalled me with different subjects multiple times as well. I don't understand why some people are so quick to throw away pride for their own country with a harsh sentence or a brutal post- I wonder if those people ever grow to regret those comments?

    I remember before I got saved, how I would say I was saved and then do the opposite and I hate that, I would never do those same things again and it makes me sad to think that other people may remember those words or actions :(

    Two days ago, my husband and our marine friend came to visit me at work, it was about to rain so we had some students bring down our flags and fold them in the office. The guys stood there, watched them fold it- and then immediately jumped in and trained them how to do it properly- in military fashion. The guys were super sweet and respectful to the kids, and the kids looked so proud to get to spend that time with my hubby and our buddy. I wish more students grew up with respect for our military and our country!

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  6. WOW... i had 3-4 other comments & they're gone!! Maybe they disappeared w/ the blogger issue last week? I got an anonymous comment that i liked & that gave me a new perspective. Our love for our country is in our hearts & cannot be taken away just buy the burning of a flag. You know who you are if you wrote that, thank you!!

    Shayla, love what your husband & his friend did! And i so agree with you! xoxo

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