Posted on 02/18/2012 5:40:00 PM PST by smoothsailing
NJLawman.com-Police and Law Enforcement News
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Yesterday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ordered all New Jersey State and American flags to be lowered to half staff on Saturday in honor of Entertainer Whitney Houston who passed away this week.
Last year, the governor did the same for Clarence Clemmons, the saxophone player for the E Street Band.
In January, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett ordered the state flag to half staff for three days in honor of Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno when he passed.
We take great issue with this practice.
Ms. Houston and Mr. Clemmons are both children of our great state and were both wildly successful. Each has made a significant contribution to music, culture, and the arts, and both are deserving of many accolades.
But just as an American serviceman killed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan is not deserving of a Grammy award, musicians and celebrities are not deserving of the lowering of the American flag.
Simply, not everybody gets every honor.
There are few gestures as symbolic and as loud as an entire state lowering their flags at the same moment for the same amount of time.
Seeing a flag at the half staff position should spawn pause and thought. It should make one a bit unsettled but at the same time thankful. It should make one ask, "what happened?"
A flag at half staff gives publicity to courage and nobility otherwise only mildly publicized. For one day, it is an inescapable message announcing to an entire state that tragedy occurred and reminding everyone that the fruits of each free day come with a price.
Expanding this honor only diminishes its meaning and raises the question: where does it end?
Between Ms. Houston and Mr. Clemmons, entire rooms could be filled with the distinctions they have each received throughout their lives.
In the coming months and years they will continue to be given well deserved recognition for their accomplishments.
But there are certain honors that should and must be set aside.
Rifle salutes, aircraft flyovers, and half-staffed flags are among those honors and they should not be on the public menu.
It is eminently important that we protect the tributes that have become part of the military and public service fabric over the past two centuries. They are part of our tradition and should not be for sale at any price. They should not be available to take, and they should not be available to give.
The manner in which we lay the valorous when they fall helps define how we should carry ourselves while we live.
Lowering the flag to half staff should be reserved only for those who perish as a result of public duty and service, protecting our nation and the Constitution, and for those who served as formal leaders and dignitaries.
This practice must stop.
Thank You for your service, Marine.
Semper Fidelis
You can say that again and Thank you for your service
Glad to read input from a Desert Storm veteran. Well said, Sir.
Thank you!
Having lost my son, who was my only child, in service to his country, I agree with that statement. We shouldn’t dilute that honor for pop culture celebrities.
A lot of families of true heroes were offended by this.
So you are saying that Benedict Arnold should have been buried with full honors because of his gallantry before he decided to become a traitor?
She made the conscious decision to pump her body full of that crap just as Arnold made the conscious decision to betray his country.
Reminds me that it only takes one Oh Shiite to erase a truckload of Atta Boys!
Thanks for posting, that makes it pretty clear.
“Mr. Christie is governor...He can do whatever he wants.”
Very true. But what he did says a lot about his discernment, especially his lack of it. That’s important information, especially if our nominee might consider Christie for his VP. We need an adult.
Respect for tradition is a real topic
So why don’t you shut your stupid face, newb?
I do.....because one of the key reasons "Rome is burning" is precisely that; that people don't give a flying fiddler's shit about such things any more.
Am guessing, Ann Coulter will ‘reach deep’ and find words to justify Christie’s action.
AMEN!!!
It just shows how screwed up our priorities are. Will Whitney have some destroyer named after her?
I’m just curious what the official flag etiquette is on this? I can see where he would order state flags lowered, but I thought there was some sort of protocol for who could order the flags lowered and for whom.
Nobody wants the US flag lowered for a mouldering crack whore
Surprising isn’t it in this day and age. You would have thought we’d be so much more evolved.
Like you
It’s interesting the way posters have reacted on this thread.
I think people like former Weatherman William Ayres have made it pretty clear that you can disrespect and desecrate the American Flag. You can burn it, spit on it, throw it on the ground in the mud and stomp on it. You can fly it at half-mast for crooked politicians, disgraced former football coaches and pampered junkies.
Why anyone would want to do any of that is beyond me. In the end I suppose it’s really all about freedom. Freedom of expression and freedom not to give a damn.
In any event, the flag is still there. Long may she wave, Brother.
Appreciate your post. Thank you for the reminders of her efforts on behalf of the Veterans.
“Governors of the several U.S. states or territories are authoried...to order U.S. and state flags flown at half-staff...for a state official or resident who has died.”
Then go to hell!
Well said, my FRiend!
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