I'll try and re-cap some of it, e-gods please don't fail me this time...

Alright. This is a dumb thread.

This is something I would not have posted had I thought about it for like 2 more minutes.

This is after-the-fact. Damage done.

Like, oh.... this is what we COULD have done, if it hadn't already progressed to this point. Because I know damn well the Average American (AA) would be afraid to attemt the inverted flag thing, they would be afraid the neighbor would make it akin to flag burning. They would not recognize this as an SOS, they would read it as a death knell, or at least they would say "hey did you know your flag is upside down?"

If you said "yes" with no explanation, they would look at you as if you were someone who likely takes pleasure in maiming small animals, or worse.

That is how unaware the AA is of our own Constitution (myself included regarding the flag thing) and scrutinizing the document itself is looked upon as being paranoid, doubtful, or unpatriotic. You're just not supposed to dig that deep.

And stuff like THIS is why! Because if we were taught this in school, we might just remember it. And then we might just try and utilize it to our advantage. Heaven forbid!

But then I think, what if this was COMMON knowledge, like the focking 'pledge of allegiance' (no more dogmatic does it get) or to even be rehearsed alogside the pledge, then what if this was used during Watergate for example, or some earlier infringement upon the Constitution?

Would we still be here, in the middle of the biggest cluster in modern history?

Would there have been an outcry, or would all those torn-n-tattered and upside-down flags have gone largely unnoticed?

I don't know.

Independence Day is Wednesday.
Well, we never did get our independence.
not 200+ years ago, and it won't happen Wednesday.

So.

I am going to redefine The Fourth for myself.

And here it is:

I am hearing fireworks in the distance as I am typing this. Fireworks are supposed to symbolize our freedom. I had that impression from childhood. But like so many things, there are double meanings.

For me, right now, hearing the booms, freedom seems like a quaint notion, because I see those fireworks representing war and preconditioning for warfare. Get used to the booms. Enjoy. Rockets bursting in air. Revel.

From Megadeth's "Hook in mouth"

F is for Fighting
R is for Red
E we elect them
E we eject them
D is for dying
O Overture
M they will cover you grave with Manure

The new Independence Day for me is being independent from all and any thing which binds us. Be it Country.
Be it bad relations. Be it the monetary situation. Be it our neverending aggression.

We are indepenent, yet interdependent as beings, as much as you may try or wish to cordone yourself off from the insanity outside your door, you must at some point face it. No man is an island.

And I have, as best I can, and it has been fruitless. I have stared those demons down, I was the victor nor the loser.

That only leaves one thing- the within.
Independence means to me now the ability to separate what drives us, animates us, from what influences and conditions us, the transparent exoskeleton. It means being at peace with yourself, even when there is a fireball headed for you.

Peace of mind cannot be bought or sold.
It can only be attained, Letting go of so many of the old ways, that I personally have had to put through reverse osmosis, is so difficult, yet so effortless.

Debates witthin the mind rage on sometimes, but there seems to be a point, when you laugh at the futility of your own preconceptions, smile face-wide, and just let it all go.

THAT is independence.

I want to thank You All for being a major
ex-fluence in the matter.... and Happy Fourth!                                              J

Or flag stamps can be flown upside down on your mail
for that matter.

I saw a flag sticker like that on the back of an SUV and
thought to myself...at least these people know what's
going on.

I think I remember the original meaning of flying the
flag upside down was that it's a signal of distress.
And for sure we are in distress.

TP

"The flag should never be displayed with the Union down, save as a signal of dire distress" - United States Flag Code

I've never been a flag flyer, but I may consider buying one for this reason alone... if this isn't a time of distress then I'd hate to see it, and enough people doing this could be a real wakeup call.                                                         J