Americans have the habit of advocating “respect” for the flag. I put this in quotes because it is not in my mind “respect” but rather idolatry. Schools push students to stand at attention and recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I, by the way, have begun telling the school – I do this nicely in spite of my extreme discomfort of being confronted with this – my son will not participate in the pledge as it is a form of idolatry and against my religion. Politicians advocate this as a means of controlling the population. It gets many of us to say something of the sort, “Well I may not agree with {insert some activity of the nation}, but it is my country and I stand behind it.” What is one pledging to do anyway? Why should we pledge allegiance to the flag and to the government (i.e., republic)? Rather, why shouldn’t the elected figures, and those working for the government, recite a pledge to us to protect our sacred liberty, our sacred dignity, our sacred self-ownership, and our sacred worth as individuals made in the image of God. A pledge to the flag by us is a blank check to the politicians and to the system of government outside of reason, outside of justice, outside of liberty, and outside of protecting our children with the goal that we will do as they command in their self-declared time of emergency.
American conservatives call people who disrespect the flag liberals. This kind of assertion is nonsensical as the socialism, or collectivism of the dreaded liberals is not logically connected to the practice of having a recitation of devotion to a regional symbol. Regardless of the political machinations, I believe the call to rally around the flag is similar to the practice used by ancient practitioners of state-craft in calling the people to bow to local idols.
Desecration is a word used for deities. It follows then, that desecration of the flag is neither a liberal nor conservative issue. Rather, flag allegiance is the advocacy of devotion to the local deity, the American government. We should be more enlightened than this. We shouldn’t follow the practice of ancient people who worshiped symbols of national representation or imposed new symbols for devotion producing a mystical feeling of awe toward the power structure of that society. It is a fact that idols were promoted via the state for obedience of the many to the state.
Look at early Christians who refused to bow to images of Caesar. Reflect on what the northern kingdom of Israel did after breaking away from the southern kingdom. “Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.’ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt’” (1 Ki 12:26-28; NIV). Let us see the connection to flag desecration. Consider King Hezekiah who broke into pieces the bronze serpent of Moses. He was reported as a king who did right in the sight of God just before this portion is mentioned. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan)” (2 Ki 18:3-4, NIV). Historical relics from Moses were more important than any flag of any country including the United States (the mention of this nation is not of importance with regard to this argument – but it is primarily Americans who are the subject of this post). Yet, Hezekiah destroyed it. Why? It says in the next part, "Israel burned incense to it". It had become a symbol of emotional devotion and comfort (or control) for the people of Israel...so it had to go. Compare these examples to the justifications many American in the church today give to their devotion to the flag.
When people pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag (or any flag), they are committing an act similar in kind to that which the Israelis did. Even religious overtones are used by those devotees and adherents of the flag, since they refer to damaging, or destroying, a flag as an act of desecration. How is this different than that which the apostles faced when they impacted the trade of idol sellers? The flag is a symbol of devotion today – it takes on a religious fervor and tone (e.g., chants like “U.S.A. U.S.A.” are far too prevalent). In addition, many in the protestant church wrongly defend this devotion or are at best completely silent. I believe that Americans today are like the people of the Northern Kingdom establishing their own gods and rituals for their god, the state.
Those who advocate, participate in, or allow (morally) burning of the flag are not by that act liberal (and thereby bad); likewise, those who don’t condone it, or oppose it, are conservative (and thereby good). Whether or not it is good, moral, or effective is also not the point. This is a bait and switch tactic mentally; it should not be done as it is intellectually dishonest. Liberals, Democrats such as Clintons, also advocate suppressing the views of those who contest the legitimacy of the state by destroying its symbol of devotion. We need to think seriously about these issues, and not simply react against individuals or parties we don’t like. We should not compromise with the idols of devotion in our era; the flag is a substitute for bulls, beetles, and busts of Caesars.