Dear Editor:
Thanks to all who came to our Memorial Day concert. Patriotism stirs many emotions. It both unifies and separates. Patriotism is an idea. I confess I have a problem with this idea.
My 98-year-old dad was a WWII Navy officer in the South Pacific. I'm a Navy veteran of the Vietnam war. I made it through with my values intact; many did not.
I just finished reading a book I saw in my home in the late '40s, "Three Came Home" by Agnes Newton Keith. She, with her husband and young son, barely survived the Japanese prison camps of North Borneo. The book details their experiences.
Bullied on a U.S. transport ship home she reflected: "When the Japanese browbeat, bullied, and humiliated us I had been able to comfort myself by saying, 'But Americans don't do that!
"Meanwhile, sitting in the lounge talking, listening to the radio broadcasts, we learned the pay-off. The world had not changed Love of country flourished, while love of humanity withered; worship of God was present, and following of Christ was absent. This was the victory we had won. This was the world men had bought with their blood. This was peace."
And, "Today we live in a world, not a state. Discoveries of science eliminate space and time. We have become a body of human beings, not of nationals. The responsibility of the entire body is ours. No matter how good our own conditions now, we cannot ignore starving Europe, a demoralized and fighting Asia."
I didn't read her book then, but somehow, I came to share her ideas. I am the Earth Flag guy that stands in front of the High Street Post Office each Wednesday over the noon hour. A few ask why. "There are lots of USA and state flags flying; I'm holding space for the Earth. We're all citizens of the Earth." "We're Jefferson City People for Peace; (pointing to the flag) Peace on Earth." My favorite is, "Every day is Mother's Day."
I know in your patriotism you love your flag and your country. I just ask you to reflect today, and every day, on this idea: "Today we live in a world, not a state. We have become a body of human beings, not of nationals." A body works together to promote the health of the whole; otherwise, the whole body dies.