Fuck The Flag
An Open Letter To My Fellow Citizens of The United States of America:
I am sick of the endless debates about the fucking flag. I’m sick of the ribbons and banners. The parades. The fucking holidays. I’m sick of wars that, as Wes Mendell so elegantly pointed out, have their own theme music and logos. I’m sick of politicians who wrap themselves in the red, white and blue, setting themselves up so that any criticism of them or their ideas is a criticism of America itself.
You’re being fucked up the ass with the giant dick of patriotism and all you can say is, “harder, harder.” It’s a distraction, that’s all it is. Magicians call it misdirection. Hey, look over there, so you won’t notice what we’re doing over here.
You think you live in a free country? Bullshit. They’ve been systematically taking away your freedoms for a hundred years and most of you haven’t even noticed. It’s not new and it’s not partisan. It’s all about power.
Take a look at the Constitution. All those rights that you were guaranteed? How many do you think you still have?
The first amendment covers your right to free speech. Take a look, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The very existence of the FCC blows that one out of the water. Seems somebody decided that if it’s broadcast, it’s not covered. Ask George Carlin, he’ll tell you.
And your freedom of religion? Doesn’t apply if you don’t have one, or your religion doesn’t include a supreme being. At least that’s the case in seven states, where someone who doesn’t believe in the existence of god is prohibited from holding office.
Want to assemble peacefully? You might need a permit for that. Depends on the situation and the law that covers it, even though any law covering such assembly is, well, fucking unconstitutional.
How about the second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms? Would you like to try counting the number of laws that infringe on that one?
The fourth amendment says this, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
The Patriot Act took care of that one. For our safety. I refer you to the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Do you still think you’re free?
In a free society, you’d have the right to put anything into your body that you chose. Drug laws make that impossible.
You’d have the right to end your own life at the time of your choosing. Sorry, against the law.
Want someone other than the government and corporations to fuck you up the ass? Forget it, sodomy is illegal in 24 states.
And can anyone give me any reasonable justification for the laws against prostitution? As Carlin said, “Selling is legal, fucking is legal, why isn’t selling fucking legal?”
Land of the free my ass.
These laws and many others exist for one reason, to control us. To make us into good little sheep while the powerful live their lives of privilege, content in the knowledge that all it takes to keep us bent over is a little flag waving and a couple verses of the fucking national anthem.
It won’t change. You’ll keep voting for them, supporting them, gladly giving up your freedoms for a little more peace of mind. So when they take away your smokes, your red meat, your candy, don’t worry about it, it’s for your own good.
And when they start banning your games because they’re too violent for your children, well, that’s okay too. After all, we have to think about the children.
Any other freedoms you can live without? Speak up. I’m sure they’re listening……
*smile*
I think I love you.
And I agree 100%. I’m going to reference this on a blog I have. Just FYI.
Comment by amy — May 31, 2007 @ 10:03 pm
This is great. Maybe you’ve seen the Mr. Deity things?
http://richarddawkins.net/article,543,Mr-Deity,Brian-Keith-Dalton-MrDeitycom
Enjoy.
Comment by amy — May 31, 2007 @ 10:25 pm
Very well written! I think I will reference this as well.
Comment by Webs — June 1, 2007 @ 9:10 am
This essay is cross-posted over at Stupid Evil Bastard, because Les has a more active discussion board. If you’d care to join the wider discussion, please visit
http://stupidevilbastard.com/index/seb/comments/fuck_the_flag/#comments
Comment by kpatrickglover — June 1, 2007 @ 10:37 am
Sorry about that SEB confusion my man. I have updated my shout out post to correctly link and credit you
Comment by Aaron Kinney — June 1, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
No wuckers, mate…..
Comment by kpatrickglover — June 1, 2007 @ 5:16 pm
Nice rant KPG - I’m referencing it too!
Comment by Michael — June 1, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
So KPatrickGlover, have you considered the possibility of a stateless, voluntary society?
Doesnt it seem that nationalism, the government, and the flag only ever succeed in fucking up everything that they touch?
Comment by Aaron Kinney — June 1, 2007 @ 9:02 pm
[...] (Parenthetically Speaking) highlights the erosion of some of your enumerated freedoms, with colorful language, to boot. As Spooner noted in 1867, that Constitution: [H]as either authorized such a government as we have had or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case it is unfit to exist. [...]
Pingback by …no third solution » Blog Archive » Love your freedom? — June 2, 2007 @ 9:30 am
shout out.
Comment by David Z — June 2, 2007 @ 9:31 am
Aaron, I think a stateless society would come with it’s own large bag full of problems that might be even more difficult to overcome.
I don’t think America is broken beyond repair, I just don’t think enough people actually care about freedom and liberty for it to ever happen.
Comment by kpatrickglover — June 2, 2007 @ 8:50 pm
I love that Franklin quote.
I perceive a bit of a paradox here, just something to consider.
Why is it so important that the rules permit you to have freedom? Why not just take it? If you require the law of the land to tell you what freedoms you do and don’t have, are you free at all, or just a slave with a generous master?
Comment by Steve-o — June 4, 2007 @ 9:38 am
[...] Liberator is worth it. Especially the one part that’s in English. It looks like this…. Fuck flaget Det er ikke pænt at bande, men nogle gange er det nu befriende at læse noget, hvor der ikke [...]
Pingback by Flag Fallout « (Parenthetically Speaking) — June 7, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
[...] 13th, 2007 K. Patrick Glover, at (Parenthetically Speaking), tries to explain to people that we don’t exactly live in a free “country”: The first amendment covers your right to free speech. Take a look, “Congress shall make no law [...]
Pingback by Fuck the Flag / Nazi medical experiments redux « Check Your Premises — June 13, 2007 @ 7:42 am
Very well stated!
Comment by Kent McManigal — June 13, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Yeah well, the “Flag” equals money for criminals who need such protections from logic or love or both.
So really we should remember that these things mean nothing in these times like coke or pepsi logos-
Simply brand names for the most clever people who are no longer SO clever, including our homegrown
Karl (NAZI) Rove.
Comment by r.k.j. — May 4, 2008 @ 8:03 am
The Out of Sight Position
Who will say “welcome home”
who will say “your name I know”
who will say that we are soldiers in the war.
We are soldiers in the war
of the out of sight position
and we are seeing what was seen
as soft and pale translucent
as the warm traces where the
bodies shine like emeralds and ghosts
dancing with pain or passovers
or in the clear view of a cross
that now we wear as soldiers
who have never left and who never lost
and have never returned
and who have been silenced
in a single turn of right to left.
where before we presided over peasants and presidents and widowed queens
as our gods judgment of who will deserve the waking of this next day
as our service and our sacrifice
as our trust
as our mothers blessing and our sisters virgin kiss
as our fathers
as our children will say in that better day of
their pastures of posture and dreams secure
that we were the falling before the nations pride
that we were in love with that only flag of one
and will always be returning.
And who will say “your name I know”
as our mothers wishes and our sisters sterling pride
and who will say “welcome home” to those who serve
in the loyalty of our army and in our arms and
as always safe with us
and as the only real people of all poems
of all songs
and whose proudest name is Loyalty-
And among us is this tireless enemy who will bandage our wounds
with the salty tincture of politics and religion,
and who would sell our songs and secret salutes
to advertising gods on silver screens
like jaded collected items in government museums
where they charge our children with some daily nuisance fee
and the drones of experts who were never
and who were not within us as this service
or as fathers and brothers and sisters or as red and white blood
could ever understand the terror turned tears of a child at night
in the darker land of darkest missions and from
where we will not return as Christmas shoppers
and where our white angels sailed as the blurring blades of helicopters
and silenced those demon seeded voices who enslaved
that small sad child of the sightless world
that sad child
of the sightless.
And did you see us touch the tears of her hands falling from the face of her
as we said there is no truer enemy and no false surrender
and taking this face into our never really sleeping
we were marching into sleeplessness in grey
and never did we find an investment in sand
or panic on the wall-street of our rise and fall
or promise bitter women of some better land
or think of any daughter as someday as wife
but thought only of the freedom of those hands-
And who will say “your name I do know!”
and “I remember when you were just five years old”
and your only friend was that old black dog
who ran up still life hillsides of old town churches
and where we learned to shoot in coldest winter mornings
and where we trembled and watched the trembling of the
fallen deer,
like the shadows of the Indian guides
in the cowboy smile of sacrifice and fire.
and of all our loyalty and desires
who will say that we are soldiers in this war and
who will say “your names I know?”
why must we be the endless unheard casualties
of the lack of recognition,
of the silence of sedition?
why must we face the prison
why must we face the prison
why must we face the prison
why must we face the prison
why must we face the prison
why must we face the prison
why must we face the prison
of the out of sight decision
of the out of sight position.
r.k.j. 2007 Leavenworth Kansas
Comment by r.k.j. — May 4, 2008 @ 8:30 am