Roy

Josh Ritter’s “Girl In the War” is much more oblique, but no less remarkable.

Which, I agree, hasn’t produced anything nearly as good to date. Unfortunately, it looks like it might last long enough to do so.

I also wonder why the emotional reaction of burning a flag is moronic speech, but that the emotional reaction of veterans feeling disrespected by the burning of a flag isn’t. At any rate, the meaning speech is only understandable in context, and in those exceedingly rare instances when flags have burned, it’s been in a clear context provided by the burners. There’s no ambiguity at any rate. Which isn’t to say I don’t think flag burning mighn’t not be moronic but it depends on who and how it’s done. Real language, as you say, can be moronic too.

Thanks for the comliment on the logo. That was my idea, I’m proud to say, but LIving in Stereo’s best friend, Roy Kasten, did the hard work to make it happen and look as striking as it does.

Please keep checking in, sir. You write thoughtfully and well, and dialogue is one big reason why I’m doing this thing anyway. So, thank you for writing.

Our relatively newish country has been somewhat slack in finding true common ground and symbols that come out of the culture we’ve produced together, and so we have this rather unnatural situation of adding all of that extra power to the flag symbol as an icon iself. We have kids pledge allegiance to the flag (of all things) and, oh yes, then to the nation for whic it stands, and a few worthwhile things attached to that. We make a song about this banner–and that’s what it is, a banner– lasting through time the national anthem.

We can’t deny that, culturally, this puts extra weight on the thing for many Americans; it’s not easy to see why they get worked up.

Because what the people who sacrificed much ,including lives, was FOR, was a nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, we need to leave people who mess with a symbol alone. In the name of that liberty.

“Don’t tread on me” was a flag too. And the line was not self-referential.

PS: Lousy wars yield lousy songs…doo-dah; doo-dah.

But on the issue of long and informed debate…that’s the appopriate response only if one agrees that there is ever a reason to engage in war, other than self-defense or the ceasing of some immediate humanitarian attrocity. And I don’t agree. Flag issues in a new post.

On your earlier flag post, I agree in the abstract that, in a sense, men fought and died so that we have the right to burn the flag. But in the real world, many who did serve and defend this country feel that to desecrate the flag is to spit on the graves of those who gave their lives for it. That isn’t a universal sentiment among those in the services, but out of respect the flag is one thing that should be sacred, or as sacred as any secular object can be.

If burning or desecrating the flag is speech, it is pretty moronic speech anyway. Because seeing someone do it doesn’t tell me anything really, except that this person is having an emotional reaction. I don’t know whether it is a terrorist sympathizer who disrespects our country simply because we do not have an Islamic government following sharia law, or whether it is someone protesting the violation of civil liberties. That’s a very large ambiguity.

It is best, I think, to have people express themselves in real language. And to have one national symbol that is inviolable is not a serious imposition.

I love your vintage RCA Living Stereo graphic by the way. I just started collecting some of that series on CD.