A tongue-in-cheek title for what may become a recurring series: the things that some people do that just strike me as wrong.
I work on an Air Force Base. One thing that occurs every day at 4:30PM is Retreat; the lowering of the US flag. During this time, they first play the trumpet call, then they play the national anthem. As a sign of respect, service members outside at the time stop what they are doing, come to attention, and render a salute to the flag as it is lowered. Civilians come to attention and place a hand over their heart. Drivers in their cars stop, and sit at attention until the music is finished. Those who haven't worked in a military environment before may be unfamiliar with this, but it is briefed to all personnel when they come to work on the base. It is also reinforced periodically via articles in the base newspaper, and notices via our internal network.
Today, after work, I got to my car in the parking lot a little before 4:30, and started to leave. It was cold, and snowing, so of course I had my car windows all rolled up. But I knew what time it was. As I got to the exit to the parking lot, I thought I heard the trumpet call. I looked back over the lot, and sure enough, I saw people coming to a stop and rendering respect to the flag. So I stopped my car, cracked the window a little so I could hear, and sat. In the middle of the national anthem, two cars pulled up behind me, and then pulled around me and continued on down the street.
I know who at least one of them was, and I intend to give him a tongue-lashing tomorrow. Is it really that hard to pause for a moment and pay our respects to our country and its flag?
The last time I was on a base during Retreat, I don't think I saw any civilians stop. :/
ReplyDeleteI can't see why you Americans are so crazy about your flag. But anyway, you could have two things in mind: At first: They could have been foreign and therefore - feel no love for your flag or - just dont know how Americans "praise" their flag. And second: They may have another opinion than you. And you need to tolerate this. They didn't try to stop or harm you, or did they?? So, they drove around you. They don't try to interrupt you - quite legitmately. On the other hand - it was you, who interrupted them. You impaired traffic. So you should think whether blocking the street is an "American Acitivity".
ReplyDeleteTwo things come to my mind. They aren't foreign. They couldn't work where they do if they were. The one I talked to admitted he wasn't paying attention and didn't hear it. He figured it out a block later, when he could go no further because the base gates were closed for Retreat.
ReplyDeleteAnywhere else, in the civilian world, I would just assume the people ignoring something like this were simply ignorant, perhaps willfully, but ignorant. Here on this base, where you know the policy going in, and you live with it every day, it is just wrong.
The only thing people who ignore Retreat are thinking of is themselves. They want to get one more car-length closer to the gate, so they can get home a few seconds faster. Yes, in this particular situation, my duty is to impair traffic.
Rendering respect to our flag, as a symbol of our nation, is a long-lived tradition in our military services. Many non-Americans no longer seem to grasp the valuse of traditions like this. It reminds us of who we are, where we've been, and why we are doing what we do. Serving your country should never be a "nine-to-five" job.
The closest base to me is a Marine Corps Air Station. I don't think I've seen anyone recently not stop their car during evening colors. I would think that most people who are entitled to enter a military base know what the rules are and respect them.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't stop I'd hope it was because they had their windows rolled up and the radio on high.