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Wrap Jesus in the Flag
Original quote is from here, via Mike the Mad Biologist (who rants rather more than I care for; I catch him through science blogs).
When I was growing up, the decending dove was second only to the cross as a symbol of faith. While my beliefs have changed over the years, I'm still saddened to see the dove marginalized in preference for red, white & blue.
Sometime after Operation Iraqi Freedom began, I made a remarkable discovery. I had gone to one of my local Christian bookstores to find a Bible for my goddaughter. On a whim, I also decided to look for a Holy Spirit lapel pin, in the symbolic shape of a dove, the kind that had always been easy to find in the display case in the front. Many people in my church and in the places where I traveled had been wearing the American flag on their lapel for months now. It seemed like a pretty good time for Christians to put the Spirit back on.
But the doves were nowhere in sight. In the place near the front where I once would have found them, I was greeted instead by a full assortment of patriotic accessories -- red-white-and-blue ties, bandanas, buttons, handkerchiefs, "I support our troops" ribbons, "God Bless America" gear, and an extraordinary cross and flag button with the two images interlocked. I felt slightly panicked by the new arrangement. I asked the clerk behind the counter where the doves had gone. The man's response was jarring, although the remark might well be remembered as an apt theological summation of our present religious age. "They're in the back with the other discounted items," he said, nodding in that direction.
When I was growing up, the decending dove was second only to the cross as a symbol of faith. While my beliefs have changed over the years, I'm still saddened to see the dove marginalized in preference for red, white & blue.
no subject
If the country is at war - damn it, you should want war too - and any statement that might be taken as anti-war is obviously supporting the enemy - the terrorists who blew up 9/11 and hate us because of our freedoms and way of life.
[off camera... 'Did I get all the cliches right? Ahh.. good...']