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| Are flags flying in abundance both outside and inside an Albemarle County doctor’s office welcoming to everyone, or just conservatives, looking for healthcare? (© Marlene A. Condon) |
God Bless America? Not Today’s America.
© 2025 Marlene A. Condon
Time
was when the American flag represented America—period. It was a symbol of which
to be proud, whether or not you were politically active. You knew it “spoke” on
behalf of every citizen in the country. Unfortunately, it has now lost this
significance, and only stands for one political group: conservatives.
Everyone
recognizes that any house with this flag attached to a porch or fence, or flying
on a short pole in the front yard, now shouts support of a particular political-group’s
opinions instead of full support of a united country of various views (which,
by the way, has always been the true value of being an American). And, as if
this tactic of in-your-face divisiveness isn’t bad enough, consider that we now
have flags manifested in some doctor’s offices, for goodness’ sake!
I’m
not talking one flag on a pole outside the building, mind you, that formerly
would have made folks think of pride of country. No, now we’re seeing numerous
flags inside of a medical building to let it be known clearly to all who
enter that it’s a conservative bastion: “[A]n institution, place, or person
strongly defending or upholding particular [emphasis mine] principles,
attitudes, or activities”. [Oxford Dictionaries]
Who
in the medical establishment would consider this display appropriate, even when
it stood for the country as a whole rather than a subgroup of people of a
particular political persuasion? Medical offices should be seen as impartial
and welcoming to all, meaning liberals, independents, or even foreigners
visiting or residing here who need a doctor’s help to restore good health.
No
reason exists to flaunt love of country inside a medical facility where folks
of every sort come for assistance unless the people in charge of the facility
support current presidential policies, or fear—for some reason—being punished
by a president who has made a mission of going after those who stand up against
his own biased thoughts.
It’s
as if our shared symbol of unity despite our differences has been transformed
into an accentuation of our differences in spite of our cohabitation.
If
you lean conservative, you may believe it’s a wonderful turn of events for
people to now see the American flag as representative of your political beliefs
instead of being representative of the country as a whole. But what that
signifies is a country divided, and is that situation truly something
conservatives should be happy about?
We’ve
been through a period of political division in which many lives were needlessly
lost: The Civil War. One would think people would prefer to get along than to
engage in such horrific warfare.
As
someone who grew up in New England but attended college in Virginia, I must say
my impression of those Southerners whose history goes back to pre-Civil War
days is one of a people loathe to forget what they view as a foreign will being
forced upon them. Seriously? Have we not all been aware of our shared good
fortune to have been born in the greatest country in the world, not because of
wealth in any sense, but because of the quite precious freedom we enjoy far
more than most any country on the planet?
I
was brought up to appreciate our freedom. So, almost forty years ago, when I
bought my current residence, I put a small American flag at the entrance to my
home. It was placed into a hole drilled into the wooden fence near the
driveway. I was proud to be an American and deeply appreciative of what that
meant for me and my loved ones—as well as everyone else.
Sadly,
it’s been years since I’ve flown my little flag, because I no longer feel that
I live in the United States of America, but rather, a very disunited and
divided America. It currently feels as if we have become two countries pretty
much at war with one another; one country open to inclusiveness and the other
very much against that philosophy.
Yet,
inclusiveness is exactly what our great country was, indeed, founded upon and
what made it so great. It’s why so many human beings have come, and continue to
come, here.
Sure,
people being people, we’ve always had to deal with some folks exhibiting
intolerant prejudice against other human beings of specific color, religious
affiliation, same-sex attraction, or ancestral origin that was different from
their own. But these unbecoming attitudes tended to be limited to subgroups in
America that didn’t represent the majority of us. Unfortunately, this truism no
longer stands.
Thanks
to a president whose every action seems based upon deliberate political antagonism,
we are now a country much fractionated instead of unified.
Since
when is it a president’s business to threaten cities, especially only those run
by the opposing political party, as our current president has done in
Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and is threatening to do in Chicago,
Baltimore, New Orleans, and Portland, Oregon? [The Daily Progress, E-Edition
Plus, Sunday, September 7, 2025]
This
man is supposed to represent all of us; not just those who elected him: “As
the only elected official who represents everyone in the U.S., the
president is expected to be a unifying leader for the whole nation —
not just for [his] political party or supporters. The president should,
therefore, exemplify the highest leadership qualities and honor the values
of democracy.”
[https://www.learningforjustice.org/the-roles-and-responsibilities-of-the-president]
But
has he done this? Is our president behaving in a manner that is unifying for
our nation when he deliberately goes after big-city Democrats who don’t behave
as he demands?
“Government
is given authority by the people to protect the rights of all the
governed (not just the majority and not only of any one political party). Government
must, therefore, respect everyone’s rights and provide equal protection to all.
[Emphasis mine]”
[https://www.learningforjustice.org/what-are-the-values-of-democracy]
Read
what’s happening in our country today under our current leadership and, if you
possess an ounce of humanity, you should feel appalled and disgusted. I truly doubt
God blesses today’s America.
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