…

In its day, didn’t this qualify?

Proposition 1: every nation has shibboleths – symbols which are so deeply and pre-rationally embedded that deliberately challenging or violating them is a waste of time, even if it can sometimes be productive in the short term.

Proposition 2: shibboleths like these have no need to be protected or actively (non-ritualistically) celebrated; if significant amounts of time and attention are being devoted to doing so, something’s wrong.

To a career politician, what is the most important priority, above all others? Getting re-elected. Any of those more substantive, more controversial, and more important to the survival of the nation and the world issues are not going to wind up the emotions of the thinking-impaired masses, who continue to vote for many of those in power today. Rather it is an image of Old Glory surrounded by flames that does it, and if the flames are those of the hellfire that befalls abortionists and same-sex couples, not to mention the Volvo-driving liberals, so much the better. Yee-haw.

(And Harold, even for those that graduate, in many states they graduate not knowing the differences among scientific theory, hypothesis and opinion, in a country led by a man who doesn’t bother himself with troublesome nonsense like facts, or history.)

jeesh!