Posted on 02/18/2012 5:40:00 PM PST by smoothsailing
NJLawman.com-Police and Law Enforcement News
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Yesterday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ordered all New Jersey State and American flags to be lowered to half staff on Saturday in honor of Entertainer Whitney Houston who passed away this week.
Last year, the governor did the same for Clarence Clemmons, the saxophone player for the E Street Band.
In January, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett ordered the state flag to half staff for three days in honor of Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno when he passed.
We take great issue with this practice.
Ms. Houston and Mr. Clemmons are both children of our great state and were both wildly successful. Each has made a significant contribution to music, culture, and the arts, and both are deserving of many accolades.
But just as an American serviceman killed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan is not deserving of a Grammy award, musicians and celebrities are not deserving of the lowering of the American flag.
Simply, not everybody gets every honor.
There are few gestures as symbolic and as loud as an entire state lowering their flags at the same moment for the same amount of time.
Seeing a flag at the half staff position should spawn pause and thought. It should make one a bit unsettled but at the same time thankful. It should make one ask, "what happened?"
A flag at half staff gives publicity to courage and nobility otherwise only mildly publicized. For one day, it is an inescapable message announcing to an entire state that tragedy occurred and reminding everyone that the fruits of each free day come with a price.
Expanding this honor only diminishes its meaning and raises the question: where does it end?
Between Ms. Houston and Mr. Clemmons, entire rooms could be filled with the distinctions they have each received throughout their lives.
In the coming months and years they will continue to be given well deserved recognition for their accomplishments.
But there are certain honors that should and must be set aside.
Rifle salutes, aircraft flyovers, and half-staffed flags are among those honors and they should not be on the public menu.
It is eminently important that we protect the tributes that have become part of the military and public service fabric over the past two centuries. They are part of our tradition and should not be for sale at any price. They should not be available to take, and they should not be available to give.
The manner in which we lay the valorous when they fall helps define how we should carry ourselves while we live.
Lowering the flag to half staff should be reserved only for those who perish as a result of public duty and service, protecting our nation and the Constitution, and for those who served as formal leaders and dignitaries.
This practice must stop.
Not being a fan of Christie... face it... Mr. Christie is governor...He can do whatever he wants. Period. Move on to a real topic.
My neighbor had a pet ferret that died the other day.
I am going to demand that my state and all the neighboring states put their flags at 1/2 mast. And all the ships at sea.
They will probably do it.
The young lady was from Jersey and made a contribution that was well known.
Totally disgusting.
A REAL topic? What is MORE real than the respect due to our flag? Yes, it's just a piece of cloth but it STANDS FOR so much more. It IS a REAL topic.
Maybe she should have used some of that crack money to make a contribution to her daughter’s health specifically braces for her teeth. How much of her money went for drugs? Over how long a period. They even had a moment of silence for Michael Jackson in Congress. When was the last time any American solder was shown that kind of respect from politicians. The NJ governor is just pandering.
No it isn’t. This is barely a topic at all, let alone an important one. Who cares about how they fly their flag while Rome is burning?
“Flags at half mast are not for celebrities, singers, actors, etc.
They are for HEROES.”
Since he has jumped on Romney’s wagon, Christie lost his mind.
Hopefully the current entertainment circus is soon over. Two weeks of fake praise and accolades for another dead junkie is a bit much. They paint the target on themselves ... no one does it to them!
It is known as de-sensitivation of a national identity and should be reserved for very few occasions.
It has become so common that nobody even notices or cares anymore.
I'm wondering why the flag is raised at all anymore. Nobody notices but me and a few military veterans.
WTF? Is there someone who measures talent and accomplishments of an entertainer and makes the decision? This is crap. Does Dionne Warwick make it? Jon Bon Jovi? David Copperfield? Ice-T? Jerry Lewis? Jack Nicholson? Kevin Spacey? Meryl Streep? Ray Liotta?
I’m guessing that if he HADN’T lowered the flags that Barry, Jesse, and Sharpie would be calling him a racist by now.
Yes, it’s just a piece of cloth but it STANDS FOR so much more
I believe Gov Crispy Cream did the same thing when Clarence Clemens of the E Street Band died. Springstein wouldn't p#ss on any Republican if they were on fire, yet the flag was flown half mast for his sax player.
After his support for the World trade Center Victory mosque, I've lost any respect for Christy.
A lot of people from NJ make contributions to their state.
Krispi Kream should have never dropped a flag for her.
Yassuh, boss!!
We moved to a small town in Ohio 6 yrs ago. The flag in our local cemetary has been at half staff for all those years. Like you, I’ve asked and no one seems to have an answer.
When we grew up half staff actually MEANT something.
It still meanS so much more for me.
I have lived out of the country, two years in one place, five years in another. I am SO grateful to be born and brought up in this land. God blessed me with that gift. I can't think how I would ever feel differently no matter how many wet blankets, cynics, America-haters or just plain dispossessed will tell me how horrible things are here. It's still the BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO LIVE, THANGKEW.
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