Can I pose a serious question? At what point does replacing the American flag with the rainbow flag, a symbol of gay/LGBTQ(RSTUVWXYZ) pride from embassies abroad become an impeachable offense in itself?
Last time I checked, the official flag of the country was the Stars and Stripes, not the same rainbow that is found on the doors of gay bars downtown.
A friend sent me this picture, taken last month in London.
Draped Rainbow Flags Hang from American Embassy in London
He explained that there was no American flag in sight. Here’s a previous picture of the embassy, from a wider angle. Notice the flag on the roof. According to my friend, the only flags visible on that day were the rainbow flags.
A word about flags. They represent the country and the people of that country. They are symbols of the nation, particularly important when abroad. For Americans, and especially veterans, the American flag is a source of immense pride. Our flag is an icon of lore, and every school child learns (learned?) the story of Betsy Ross.
A legitimate government does not start flying flags of a stateless movement on its embassies abroad. This is just the latest evidence that something is very wrong, that the government is not acting like every preceding American government. Not even the most radical administrations, such as Woodrow Wilson, who racially segregated the federal government, or Franklin Roosevelt, who died at the beginning of an unprecedented fourth term, replaced the American flag.
Flags represent allegiance. Apparently the United States Department of State intends to tell the world, “We are the international gay movement.” Not allied with, but are.
Last month, the American embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel flew the rainbow flag as well. But at least in this case, it was BELOW the American flag. At least, in this case, there WAS an American flag.
U.S. Embassy, Tel Aviv in June
Now, to say a few things that some people will find unpleasant, but need to be said. This administration has a record of placing gay ambassadors in countries where they are not welcome. The Dominican Republic last November, for example, was pretty well outraged. As anyone who knows about the Foreign Service will tell you, it has always been somewhat of a refuge for homosexuals. Ditto the CIA, whose ranks were and are filled by people of alternative lifestyles – including gays, nudists, those who believe in mind control, etc. Just think of Christopher Stevens, who was a CIA operative in the State Department, and gay. The reason? Let’s just say that Europe has always been a little more experimental, some would say “tolerant” (though I’m not sure that I would be so inclined to call the Continent, who invented Fascism and Communism, tolerant). But in past times, gay ambassadors served without making an issue of their sexuality to their host country. For the most part, they served professionally, and did their jobs without making their personal lives a matter of international tension and conflict.
The bottom line is that when the U.S. Department of State puts social policy ahead of rational and effective diplomacy, we are all put in danger. We are all punished. And that includes anyone in the United States that may own and fly their very own rainbow flag. We are lab rats to the Obama administration, like we are to their best buddies at Facebook, who use us for psychological experiments.
William Michael