Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_07.04.08 - Index

8A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY JULY 4, 2008
I pledge allegiance to the planet
There is nothing in the normal human
mind that forbids the expansion of one’s
loyalty above the level of one’s country;
we are not constrained to swear exclusive
allegiance to one fl ag only. We can be
loyal to our community without giving up
loyalty to our province,
TAKE IT
OUTSIDE
GER
ERICKSON
state or region. We can
be loyal to our region
and feel at one with an
entire culture, and even
with the human family
as a whole.
– Ervin Lazslo
The month
needn’t be specifi
ed. Two words
suffi ce: The
Fourth. From banners and
bunting to face paint and lapel
pins, today the primary colors
of our spectrum hew to
the hues of the Holy Trinity
of red, white and blue.
We Americans are
fl agoholics, and The Fourth is our day
to binge. If you doubt it, consider the
subject of our national anthem. Is it the
people, the land, the ideals of democracy?
Nope. It’s the fl ag.
A confession is in order: When I
conjure feelings and thoughts about
America, the fl ag is not the fi rst thing
that comes to heart and mind. Granted,
the Stars and Stripes for me is a powerful
image and an object of reverence.
Keep in mind that I’m sitting safely at
my keyboard in Northern California.
For our men and women laboring in the
sizzle and peril of Iraq and Afghanistan,
the fl ag can symbolize the cause – however
they defi ne it – for which they risk
their lives. A transitory piece of cloth
can stand for the eternal values of hope
and courage.
Yet for me, America is not epitomized
by the fl ag.
When I was a boy,
Mom and Dad
showed me
America.
They drove
me and Randy and
Gloria and Vic through
Chicago’s near southwest side,
down some pretty rough and ramshackle
streets, to wake us up to how
good we had it on our own safe and
tidy street. They walked us Protestant
evangelical zealots through Holy Name
Cathedral to give us a taste of the
splendor of Roman Catholic worship. I
don’t recall my parents summing it up
see Outside page 26A
Photo by Ger Erickson
Photos by Ger Erickson
A lapel pin, inset, portrays Old Glory as a B2 Stealth Bomber. Above,
the granite majesty of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park.