Soiling the flag

I've come to expect that when the mean streets of the Middle East get prime time coverage, I'll see an American flag in tatters and afire, torched with purpose by those who loathe the United States and everything about us.

I am no longer surprised by Americans who do not know that clothing made from the flag dishonors our national symbol, and that writing on it or dragging it in the dirt shows little regard for it. Ever since Jim Craig draped the Stars and Stripes about his shoulders, it's become the norm for athletes to inappropriately--and quite unknowingly--drape our flag about their shoulders.

It's a different thing for a sitting President to abase the flag.

Now, I understand that the Christian is commanded to pray for those in authority over him (1 Timothy 2:1-2). This should not surprise the believer because if he has drunk deep of God's word to him, he would know full well that it is only by God's hand that any comes to power (Daniel 2:21, 5:21, Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-14). This does not mean that the Christian must hold his tongue regarding the conduct of one's leaders. To that end, I write.

President Barack Obama has done much to tarnish the office of the President of the United States and thereby denigrate our country. It did not take long for our President to begin bowing to sovereigns around the world to include those who have little regard for civil rights or putting his feet on a desk gifted to us in 1880 by Queen Elizabeth. In pursuing a second term as our President, he continues to show little regard for the greatness of our nation and our symbols. To show what an edgy and hep individual he is, his campaign has offered these posters to festoon the walls of his supporters:

Did you hear the outcry? Did anyone even notice? Mark Steyn recognized the desecration of the flag for what it was when he wrote:

I see the Obama campaign has redesigned the American flag, and very attractive it is too. Replacing the 50 stars of a federal republic is the single “O” logo symbolizing the great gaping maw of spendaholic centralization. And where the stripes used to be are a handful of red daubs, eerily mimicking the bloody finger streaks left on the pillars of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi as its staff were dragged out by a mob of savages to be tortured and killed. What better symbol could one have of American foreign policy?

Did you know that such is a desecration of the flag? From the Flag Code:

The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.

In fact, to do such within the District of Columbia is considered a misdemeanor. Wholly apart from the criminal aspect, such a brazen display shows little regard for our national heritage, and like using the Oval Office for "extracurriculars," shows a hubris and narcissism inappropriate for a town clerk much less the President of the United States. There has been enough of a ruckus that the poster has since been pulled, but how is it that the leader of the greatest nation on the planet and his minions have no concept of the value of our national treasures?

Perhaps our next President will comport himself in a manner worthy of the office he holds both in the international arena and within the comfortable borders of his own country.