Centerfield

By the way, nothing is off-topic, not barbecues or vacation plans or even politics.

I'd be curious to know who has a flag and who put one up today.

Three of my aunt's four sons are currently serving in the U.S. Army. One spent a tour of duty in Iraq and then went to Afghanistan to help during their elections. I don't know how my aunt copes, but I'm very proud of them, and all of our troops. We are very fortunate, as a country, to have such people, who regularly volunteer to risk their lives on our behalf.

My mom has a flag, which she puts up every Memorial Day, as well as the Fourth of July. If I'm not around to help her put up the big one on the porch, she has a little hand held model she displays. (The hand held model makes a good living; we pay him a dollar an hour. ;-)

LOL.

My flag flies on Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, July 4th, and a few others depending on my mood. But always those three.

No flag here. I just think about those who gave their lives and those now living hard lives to keep us safe, and about Jefferson's comment about the tree of Liberty needing regular fertilization in blood.

I like the way the McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour shows a picture and info on each dead trooper for a few seconds at the end. It's a simple, apolitical way of bringing home the lives this war is costing.

Thanks for the laugh, Tully.

I have no personal flag to put up, but I did recite Eleanor Roosevelt's war prayer.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Wartime Prayer

Dear Lord,

Lest I continue
My complacent way,
Help me to remember that somewhere,
Somehow out there
A man died for me today.
As long as there be war,
I then must
Ask and answer
Am I worth dying for?

I fly my flag all the time. I'm probably breaking some rules for exactly how I'm suppposed to fly it, but I like having it up all the time.

Is it supposed to be lit at night if you don't take it down? That seems like a waste of electricity in a residential neighborhood, in other words a good rule for a military base or public square or high traffic area, but not for a residential cul-de-sac.

This is the Memorial Day post from my blog, Dogma Dogged:

I told myself last night I should try and remain totally apolitical if I decided to post today, Memorial Day. I had hardly begun to browse my RSS feeds when I knew I couldn't do it, at least not totally.

My faith in the moral fiber of my government was shaken by the decision to go to war in Iraq - shaken not lost. My remaining hope is that the hawks have learned lessons their pride won't let them confess. So, I have to at least acknowlege my feelings about this war even in the context of memorializing real heroes.

I think in modern times war is always avoidable. It cannot always be avoided since no one party to a conflict holds all the power to desist. We can,though, set the threshold of necessity much higher than we did before invading Iraq. That is the least and the most we can do for those who have fallen in defense.

Working to insure as few Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines as possible give their lives in service to us is to do them the greatest honor possible.

For those who have already died while "following the lawful (sic) orders of those appointed over them", I love you; I bless you; you are deserving of all honor and glory in our memory.

"Si vis pacem, para bellum."

Sad, but true. Even today.

Yeah, bk, I think you're supposed to take it down at night, at least my mom always does. Part of our "citizenship test" in 4-H was memorizing the rules of flag display. It can stay up if you have a light shining on it, though, like McDonald's, Checkers, the used car dealership, etc.

Anyway, don't worry. I doubt the flag police are going to come and haul you away. ;-)