Mike Rowe ridiculed Massachusetts’s Hampshire College for its decision to remove the U.S. flag from campus because it instilled students with “fear.”
A better option, Rowe suggested, might be “simply educating them about the undeniable fact that no country on the planet affords its citizens more liberty than this one.”
Seems reasonable to me. But some had issues with his exercise of free speech and Rowe responded in detail to one, Susanne McDaniel, in particular.
McDaniel wrote:
“How did you become so blindly patriotic? First of all, the college you were referencing in your rant about the American flag is a private college and doesn’t receive federal funding. However…the very essence of freedom in this country is our right to speak out against the flag, which is a mere symbol.
“If you take away that right, then we have lost all freedom. You really need to take a civics course, Mike Rowe. I used to like you; but, you have really become very annoying to me in recent years. I thought you were more intelligent. But, I guess appearances aren’t everything.”
Rowe responded:
“I’ve never thought of myself as ‘blindly patriotic,’ but I am a fan of the United States, the founding fathers, and the men and women who have served on my behalf. I also confess to feeling lucky to live here.
“Having said that, I think you’re correct about the flag; it’s only a symbol. So too is the Crucifix. And the middle finger. And the Swastika. And the compressed chunks of carbon that millions wear on their ring fingers as expressions of timeless love and eternal devotion…
“But if you really believe our flag is nothing but a ‘mere symbol,’ equally suitable for flying or burning, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable if the people you work with suddenly started coming to the office in pointy white hats fashioned from bedsheets? Would that be a problem for you? Or how about The Rainbow Flag, favored by the LGBTQ community? Would it be OK if people started burning that? If not, why not? I mean, it’s only a symbol, right?”
“The thing about ‘mere symbols’ Susanne, is that they represent ‘mere ideas,’ and ‘mere ideas’ are the backbone of ‘mere humanity.’ In the case of the flag, we’re talking about ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution — a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.
“Mere ideas are the reason people fight and die. Mere ideas are the reason we’re allowed to speak freely, protest publicly, bear arms, and burn the very symbol that represents those very freedoms. I didn’t suggest that you or anyone else be denied your right to fly or burn whatever flag you wish. What I failed to do, is quietly accept behavior I don’t care for. Which, if I’m not mistaken, is the same compulsion that motivates others to publicly express themselves in whatever ways they choose.”
FYI: Hampshire College is flying the American flag on campus again.
Source:
This is the department perhaps most in need of help and a competent hand. It should be someone whose experience really can change things.
THINK THE LEFT HATES TRUMP? IMAGINE IF THE MAMA GRIZZLY WERE IN THEIR FACES
THIS IS ROBIN MAYNARD.
WAAHHH! THAT MEAN OLD FOX NEWS WOULDN’T KISS MY RING LIKE THE REST OF MY WHORES!
LURCH, KINDLY SHUT THE HELL UP AND GO SPEND YOUR WIFE’S MONEY
AS THINGS ARE NOW, YOU CAN ONLY GET INTO COLLEGE IF YOU’RE A FOREIGNER, AN ILLEGAL, OR BLACK, UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN DEBT…IF YOU CAN FIND AN OPENING.
IF YOU WANT A PROSPEROUS NATION, YOU START WITH PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO MANAGE BUSINESS SUCCESSFULLY.
WE JUST WENT THROUGH 8 SOLID YEARS OF LESS THAN 3% GDP GROWTH. WORST IN HISTORY…EVEN DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION.
WHAT AN ABSOLUTE JOKE. THESE KIDS START SMOKING CIGARETTES AT 8, WEED AT 12. WHO’S GOING TO ENFORCE THIS NO SMOKING RULE?
At least one thousand veterans gathered in Amherst this afternoon to protest the removal of the American flag at Hampshire College. 22news spoke to protesters about why they strongly disagreed with the college’s decision.
The Mesa, Arizona, grandmother who accidentally texted a teen boy an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner met him after she kept her promise to host him.
IT’S TRUMP’S FAULT! YEAH, THAT’S THE TICKET!
Sinise spent his Thanksgiving at Kandahar Air Force Base in Afghanistan, serving Thanksgiving dinner to U.S. forces…you know, something presidents used to do in America, as one social media user noted.
The piece by Robin Givhan contrasts with the writer’s bashing of the looks of conservative women such as Carly Fiorina, who she mocked as a “style bully.”
HER ENTIRE CAMPAIGN SHE RAISED $3.1M. NOW WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE SHE RAISED $5M? THIS IS THE CLINTONISTAS IN A BLATANT ATTEMPT AT STEALING AN ELECTION.
President Obama is over. He knows that. There are still some things that he can do before he leaves office, but everything except the most destructive, can be undone by his successor. The next phase of his campaign will not be fought from the White House. It will be fought against the White House.
“No doubt, divine providence played a huge role in this election,” she replied. “I will boldly proclaim that. I saw it first-hand. I was there on the campaign trail. I saw how things were changing. I saw more and more people’s eyes open, and I think so much of that was based on the church in general, those people of faith who were praying to God that people would wake up.”
The source said the final numbers were so close that Clinton might not have placed her call to Trump without a push.
“The researchers asked participating high school students to look at an Imgur.com photo of some mutant-looking daisies with the caption “this is what happens when flowers get nuclear birth defects.” Almost 40 percent of the high schoolers decided that the photo was powerful evidence of nuclear radiation near Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in spite of the fact that the photo actually contained zero evidence suggesting that the daisies were anywhere near the nuclear plant.
President-elect Donald Trump ran on removing gun-free zones from military bases. On July 9, 2015, Breitbart News reported that Trump pledged to end the gun-free scenarios for U.S. troops by “[mandating] that soldiers remain armed and on alert at our military bases.”
“CNN has always pledged to hold Trump accountable and that’s what we should be doing,” another source told the Examiner. “Since the election, CNN has out MSNBCed MSNBC,” the source said, referring to the liberal slant at CNN’s competitor. “In the long term, that’s a dangerous place to be.”
An organization of parent activists, retired teachers, and other professionals from around the nation has released an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump, urging him to do all within his power to return control of education to parents.
BACK IN MY DAY WE HAD SHOP CLASSES… FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T GO TO COLLEGE.
THERE’S NOT A DOUBT IN MY MIND THESE TWO WERE PROBABLY SPAWNED BY VIETNAM PROTESTERS.
“Mr. Trump’s choice of Sen. Sessions for Attorney General is deeply troubling,” Brazile said in a statement. “His demonstrated disdain for the rights of ordinary Americans, his history of discrimination and pattern of racist behavior make him unfit to serve as the next Attorney General. I call on members of the United States Senate to reject his nomination.”
blackgenocide.org/black.html
THE TRUTH RARELY FITS THEIR NARRATIVE
FROM DIANNY AT PATRIOT RETORT
WHY WOULD A WOMAN OF GRACE AND CLASS WEAR SOMETHING FROM A HACK THAT LOOKS LIKE HER WARDROBE COMES FROM A MEXICAN UPHOLSTERY SHOP?
polination.blog 