KHS Uniform Committee Meeting

[Guest Guest]

So by you're loony left Kool-Aid mentality, standing to pledge allegiance to the flag; honoring all those

who have died defending the flag, respecting all that our flag and our country stands for, somehow means

you're not free ??

Being forced or pressured to do it means you're not free, dimbulb.

[Guest Guest]

So by you're loony left Kool-Aid mentality, standing to pledge allegiance to the flag; honoring all those

who have died defending the flag, respecting all that our flag and our country stands for, somehow means

you're not free ?? Disrespecting the heroes who raised the flag over Iwo Jima and countless other battles

in all our countries wars is OK because you're not "free" if you put your hand over your heart.

No one has said that. You're completely missing the point.

Here's what you were responding to:

QUOTE (Guest @ May 7 2008, 07:21 AM)

You gotta love it. 99.9999% of the people, who are all doing exactly the same thing at precisely the same time are free, while the one kid who dares to challenge it and be different is brainwashed.

This was in response to another post claiming Matthew is brainwashed. It's a laughable claim for the reasons stated in this response, especially if you've listened to Matthew speak. It has nothing to do with whether all the people standing and pledging are free.

However, if 99.9999% of all the people are doing the same thing at the same time, it's likely some of them aren't doing it just because they want to. It is a problem, whether you acknowledge it or not.

You're putting too much emphasis on these rituals and not enough on the day-to-day lives that people live. We contribute to our country mainly by being good citizens. That contribution is far more important than these rituals. Pandering politicians use these rituals and other superficial things like them to fool us, get our votes and then sell us down the river. When you make the flag salute so important, you set us up for being lied to and misled, which is exactly what has happened in recent years.

Maybe you think there's no cost to making all the children stand and recite the pledge every day. There's not, until people like you start to insist on it. Then there is a cost. What you don't seem to understand is that it's your insistence and your unwillingness to tolerate dissent that makes this an issue. It's your confusion about what citizenship is, and about what matters most in a democracy. You're doing real harm and you don't realize it.

[Guest Guest]

Your premises are false.

1. Most crusades worth fighting are lonely.

2. Conformity is a very big deal, especially now in the United States. You can’t have it both ways, making it such a big deal that you go crazy when even one person sits quietly and doesn’t participate; but for that person, you say, it shouldn’t be a big deal. You can’t se

e your own biases or your own double standard.

3. We’re not the ones forcing anyone. All Matthew is doing is sitting quietly while others do as they please to do. Why should that threaten you? You’re the ones who want to force something. So you have it exactly backwards. You’re the ones with the power. Why can’t you accept someone like me, or Matthew?

If you understood evolutionary biology and its applications to human social systems, you would understand that pressure to conform is among the strongest pressures placed on the individual. That may have been necessary in tribal societies where people literally lived or died depending on whether they conformed to group norms. In a more advanced society like ours, conformity is necessary up to a point, but not for these kinds of symbolic exercises. We’ve over-socialized our genetic predispositions, and as a result, history is littered with nations and cultures that have spun down into dictatorships and tyrannies. Yet no matter how many times we see this pattern being repeated, we keep making the same mistakes. Why can’t we see how completely unnecessary these rituals are? I’m not saying don’t have them. I’m just saying lighten up about them. Don’t demand that everyone participate all the time. When you do that, you take all the meaning out of it.

It is true that I am trying to persuade others to my point of view. So are you. Is there something wrong with that?

You didn’t address my question: “What do people desperately want to believe, such that Matthew’s simple little protest can challenge it so – to such an extent that you cannot abide even one person daring to say that the emperor’s clothes might not be what you think they are? What are you afraid to your core might not be true?”

It doesn't threaten me. I do find it unnecessary, and ill mannered. Is that the way Matthew would behave if he was in a church, or a temple? Would he do that in another country?

I want my children to do what is right, but not at the cost of hurting others.

You assume everyone else needs to be taught a lesson and that Matthew is bright enough to do it. All he has shown is that he is very naïve.

[Guest Guest]

Your premises are false.

1. Most crusades worth fighting are lonely.

2. Conformity is a very big deal, especially now in the United States. You can’t have it both ways, making it such a big deal that you go crazy when even one person sits quietly and doesn’t participate; but for that person, you say, it shouldn’t be a big deal. You can’t see your own biases or your own double standard.

3. We’re not the ones forcing anyone. All Matthew is doing is sitting quietly while others do as they please to do. Why should that threaten you? You’re the ones who want to force something. So you have it exactly backwards. You’re the ones with the power. Why can’t you accept someone like me, or Matthew?

If you understood evolutionary biology and its applications to human social systems, you would understand that pressure to conform is among the strongest pressures placed on the individual. That may have been necessary in tribal societies where people literally lived or died depending on whether they conformed to group norms. In a more advanced society like ours, conformity is necessary up to a point, but not for these kinds of symbolic exercises. We’ve over-socialized our genetic predispositions, and as a result, history is littered with nations and cultures that have spun down into dictatorships and tyrannies. Yet no matter how many times we see this pattern being repeated, we keep making the same mistakes. Why can’t we see how completely unnecessary these rituals are? I’m not saying don’t have them. I’m just saying lighten up about them. Don’t demand that everyone participate all the time. When you do that, you take all the meaning out of it.

It is true that I am trying to persuade others to my point of view. So are you. Is there something wrong with that?

You didn’t address my question: “What do people desperately want to believe, such that Matthew’s simple little protest can challenge it so – to such an extent that you cannot abide even one person daring to say that the emperor’s clothes might not be what you think they are? What are you afraid to your core might not be true?”

I think most people say the pledge to remind themselves how lucky they are to live in this country and have all of the opportunities that we have. I doubt that they are concerned with the constitutionality of the pledge or turning into a battle about whether or not god exists.

You’ve used the phrase “in a perfect world” indicating that you realize the world is imperfect. That’s a lesson that you might want to teach Matthew soon.

[Guest Guest]

I think most people say the pledge to remind themselves how lucky they are to live in this country and have all of the opportunities that we have. I doubt that they are concerned with the constitutionality of the pledge

That's a fault, then. As citizens it is their duty to be concerned with things like that.

or turning into a battle about whether or not god exists.

No one has done this. It doesn't matter whether a god or gods exists--the pledge of allegiance should not contain language that excludes ANY American citizens. The phrase "under God" excludes all non-Christians. "Liberty and justice for all", remember?

You’ve used the phrase “in a perfect world” indicating that you realize the world is imperfect. That’s a lesson that you might want to teach Matthew soon.

So what would you suggest? The world is imperfect, therefore we should make no effort to improve it? I, for one, am glad that the LaClairs are not so pessimistic as you. They should be (and are, by most of the country outside of Kearny) congratulated for wanting to improve their country--that's what true patriotism is all about. It's not about thinking your country is always the best at everything--it's about wanting what's best for your country.

[Guest Guest]

It doesn't threaten me. I do find it unnecessary, and ill mannered.

Well, I find the phrase "under God" unnecessary, and ill-mannered. So what makes your opinion more valid than mine, for example?

Is that the way Matthew would behave if he was in a church, or a temple?

Ironically, I have spent entire Catholic masses not standing for prayers etc. (basically between the time I told my parents I didn't believe anymore and the time when they stopped dragging me to church anyway) without getting nearly the negative reaction from the congregation that people like you give Matthew.

Would he do that in another country?

Why not?

I want my children to do what is right, but not at the cost of hurting others.

How does sitting quietly instead of standing and chanting with everyone else hurt anyone?

You assume everyone else needs to be taught a lesson and that Matthew is bright enough to do it.

Well, Matthew is at least bright enough to see the problem with the current pledge. If anyone else isn't, then clearly he is "bright enough" to teach them that much.

All he has shown is that he is very naïve.

On the contrary--in the past few years, he's proven himself to be a lot more mature than most of the adults in his community. At least he doesn't go around making up lies about the people denigrating him.

[Guest Guest]

1. It doesn't threaten me. I do find it unnecessary, and ill mannered. Is that the way Matthew would behave if he was in a church, or a temple? Would he do that in another country?

2. I want my children to do what is right, but not at the cost of hurting others.

3. You assume everyone else needs to be taught a lesson and that Matthew is bright enough to do it. All he has shown is that he is very naïve.

1. Yes it does. If it didn't threaten you, you wouldn't still be arguing about it three years later.

2. He's doing what is right, isn't hurting anyone and is standing up for our freedom.

3. Oh, I see. So if a citizen is the only one to believe something, he should sit quietly and say nothing. Most of the important changes in science, politics, art and practically every field you can name have come about because one person had an idea no one else had.

It still comes down to the same thing. You claim to value freedom, but when you're put to the test, you don't value it. You can't even tolerate one person's dissent.

[Guest Guest]

1. I think most people say the pledge to remind themselves how lucky they are to live in this country and have all of the opportunities that we have. 2. I doubt that they are concerned with the constitutionality of the pledge or turning into a battle about whether or not god exists.

3. You’ve used the phrase “in a perfect world” indicating that you realize the world is imperfect. That’s a lesson that you might want to teach Matthew soon.

1. People do it for a lot of reasons. Most kids in school do it because they are told to. I think it's interesting that we aim this ritual at our kids first.

2. You're right, they're not the least bit concerned about these things.

A. You don't see why that's a problem?

B. So if one person is concerned about them, what should he do?

3. Talk about smug. If Matthew wasn't keenly aware how imperfect the world is, he wouldn't have done any of this.

[Guest Guest]

It doesn't threaten me. I do find it unnecessary, and ill mannered. Is that the way Matthew would behave if he was in a church, or a temple? Would he do that in another country?

I can't speak for Matthew, but this is completely different and someone already addressed it. In someone else's country or place of worship, you have no stake in their practices. In your own country you do. You have a right to dissent in your own country. That makes it completely different.

[Guest Paul]

It doesn't threaten me. I do find it unnecessary, and ill mannered. Is that the way Matthew would behave if he was in a church, or a temple? Would he do that in another country?

I want my children to do what is right, but not at the cost of hurting others.

You assume everyone else needs to be taught a lesson and that Matthew is bright enough to do it. All he has shown is that he is very naïve.

He's one of the least naïve people I know and extremely effective at getting his message across, as evidenced by the fact that you're still talking about this three years later. And this one didn't even make national news.

So let’s think about why things are considered rude.

Belching loudly in public is considered rude.

It would be rude for someone to break down the doors to your house and come barging in with guns drawn, prepared to shoot you if you resist. In fact, it would be worse than rude.

It is also considered rude, and worse, for someone to violate the law.

Now consider the context.

A loud belch on stage as part of a play is no longer rude. It's part of the show. If you don't like that sort of thing, don't attend the play.

If the police break down your doors because they are carrying out an arrest warrant issued by a court for good cause, then the action is not rude.

When Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus, that wasn’t rude either, even though she was violating the law. It was heroic. She is now recognized as an American hero for breaking the law, which no one else was willing to do. Like many true heroes, she stood alone in the beginning.

You’ve gotten yourself into such a tizzy over these patriotic rituals that you can’t see what you have turned them into. Once you start insisting on them to the point of calling people names or threatening them when they don’t go along, they lose all their meaning. That’s not the fault of our soldiers or our revolutionary forbears. That’s your fault. You have done that. You have destroyed the meaning of the Pledge.

When that happens, it is a citizen’s duty to put on the brakes. That is what Matthew is doing. He’s not forcing anyone to do anything. He’s just making his point, quietly and without disrupting anyone. You're the ones causing all the fuss.

By the way, I asked Matthew what he thought about standing in church or another country. He made the point that those are places one goes voluntarily, unlike his school, where his attendance is mandatory. There are other differences, but I didn't ask him to write an essay.

You say his action doesn't threaten you, but your behavior says that it does. Let's think it through.

1. It doesn’t dishonor or disrespect our troops. Just the opposite, it honors and respects them. He is emulating them. Just as they encountered personal risk to stand up for freedom, so is Matthew. Several veterans have posted right here to make that point. They agree with Matthew because they haven’t forgotten what they were fighting for.

2. It doesn’t harm anyone. Just the opposite, it reminds us what freedom really means.

3. It doesn’t harm our country. Just the opposite, it makes our country stronger by reminding us that in a free and democratic society, respect for dissent is essential. It makes the promise of freedom real through action.

Yet no matter how many times these points are made, you refuse to acknowledge any of them. You can’t talk about what’s rude and what isn’t without considering the whole context, and the person’s reasons for doing it.

So please, let’s continue the discussion. But show some respect and honesty and intelligence and address the reasons why Matthew is doing this, not just your reasons for not liking it. I've made several points in this post about why Matthew's action is a good one. I've made these same points many times before, yet not once has any of his detractors addressed even one of them.

To return to Christian ethics, you must walk a mile in the other person’s shoes. Ethically and spiritually, this is not an option, but an imperative. So why aren’t you doing it?

[Guest Guest]

Being forced or pressured to do it means you're not free, dimbulb.

Not so, respecting the flag and all those who died defending it is more important than one's personal loony agenda.

[Guest Just Me]

Would you help a blind or elderly person across a street?

Would you hold a door open for anyone?

Do you know how to say Good Morning!

Shall we never make monetary donations to (what ever good cause).

Do you disregard stops signs and red lights?

Should criminals be incarcerated?

Would you make a passing nod and a smile a criminal act?

Do you and your child know how to say "thank you." "Thank you" for the right to disagree? "Thank you" for the right to a good education? "Thank you" for being nobody and becoming a lawyer? Thank you for not having to be part of a political party or member of a dictatorship to have a decent place to live, food to eat, schools to attend, a job to work at? Imagine having to 'show your papers' to travel between states? "Thank you" for being able to send these silly messages back and forth and the Feds not coming to get you after figuring out who you are? "Thank you" for

Even with all the problems we have life is good here in the United States, the only truly free place on earth.

Matthew better hope the military draft is not re-enacted....after being given a uniform the first thing you learn in the military is how to salute!

[Guest Guest]

QUOTE (Guest @ May 9 2008, 12:18 AM)

Being forced or pressured to do it means you're not free, dimbulb.

Not so, respecting the flag and all those who died defending it is more important than one's personal loony agenda.

Sitting quietly to protest a forced ritual is respecting the flag and all those who died defending it.

Look what you were responding to. Actually read it this time. If you're forced or pressured, then you're not free. How can you deny that?

[Guest Guest]

Would you help a blind or elderly person across a street?

Would you hold a door open for anyone?

Do you know how to say Good Morning!

Shall we never make monetary donations to (what ever good cause).

Do you disregard stops signs and red lights?

Should criminals be incarcerated?

Would you make a passing nod and a smile a criminal act?

Do you and your child know how to say "thank you." "Thank you" for the right to disagree? "Thank you" for the right to a good education? "Thank you" for being nobody and becoming a lawyer? Thank you for not having to be part of a political party or member of a dictatorship to have a decent place to live, food to eat, schools to attend, a job to work at? Imagine having to 'show your papers' to travel between states? "Thank you" for being able to send these silly messages back and forth and the Feds not coming to get you after figuring out who you are? "Thank you" for

Even with all the problems we have life is good here in the United States, the only truly free place on earth.

Matthew better hope the military draft is not re-enacted....after being given a uniform the first thing you learn in the military is how to salute!

What makes you think they wouldn't do all those things?

You don't understand how these freedoms are lost.

[Guest Guest]

Do you and your child know how to say "thank you."

Do you and your child know how to punctuate questions?

"Thank you" for the right to disagree? "Thank you" for the right to a good education? "Thank you" for being nobody and becoming a lawyer? Thank you for not having to be part of a political party or member of a dictatorship to have a decent place to live, food to eat, schools to attend, a job to work at? Imagine having to 'show your papers' to travel between states? "Thank you" for being able to send these silly messages back and forth and the Feds not coming to get you after figuring out who you are? "Thank you" for

Did you fall asleep while you were typing this? You cut out in mid-sentence there.

Even with all the problems we have life is good here in the United States, the only truly free place on earth.

In theory, yes. But we have a long way to go before every citizen is and feels as free as every other. Take what happens to someone just for choosing to sit during the pledge of allegiance as a perfect example of imperfection in the system.

Matthew better hope the military draft is not re-enacted....after being given a uniform the first thing you learn in the military is how to salute!

Chain of command is a completely different story. Bad analogy (that is, assuming this isn't a completely random comment not related to anything).

[Guest Guest]

Not so, respecting the flag and all those who died defending it is more important than one's personal loony agenda.

In other words, conformity is more important than personal freedom, according to you. Nice sentiment, fascist.

[Guest Guest]

Would you help a blind or elderly person across a street?

Would you hold a door open for anyone?

Do you know how to say Good Morning!

Shall we never make monetary donations to (what ever good cause).

Do you disregard stops signs and red lights?

Should criminals be incarcerated?

Would you make a passing nod and a smile a criminal act?

Do you and your child know how to say "thank you." "Thank you" for the right to disagree? "Thank you" for the right to a good education? "Thank you" for being nobody and becoming a lawyer? Thank you for not having to be part of a political party or member of a dictatorship to have a decent place to live, food to eat, schools to attend, a job to work at? Imagine having to 'show your papers' to travel between states? "Thank you" for being able to send these silly messages back and forth and the Feds not coming to get you after figuring out who you are? "Thank you" for

Even with all the problems we have life is good here in the United States, the only truly free place on earth.

Matthew better hope the military draft is not re-enacted....after being given a uniform the first thing you learn in the military is how to salute!

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. None of this has anything to do with Matthew or his family.

[Guest Paul]

Would you help a blind or elderly person across a street?

Would you hold a door open for anyone?

Do you know how to say Good Morning!

Shall we never make monetary donations to (what ever good cause).

Do you disregard stops signs and red lights?

Should criminals be incarcerated?

Would you make a passing nod and a smile a criminal act?

Do you and your child know how to say "thank you." "Thank you" for the right to disagree? "Thank you" for the right to a good education? "Thank you" for being nobody and becoming a lawyer? Thank you for not having to be part of a political party or member of a dictatorship to have a decent place to live, food to eat, schools to attend, a job to work at? Imagine having to 'show your papers' to travel between states? "Thank you" for being able to send these silly messages back and forth and the Feds not coming to get you after figuring out who you are? "Thank you" for

Even with all the problems we have life is good here in the United States, the only truly free place on earth.

Matthew better hope the military draft is not re-enacted....after being given a uniform the first thing you learn in the military is how to salute!

I’m willing to have this discussion with you, but you must listen and engage. Unless both sides listen and engage, no discussion is possible.

I’ve posted several times stating why Matthew did what he did, and he has explained it himself.

http://forums.kearnyontheweb.com/index.php...ost&p=86109

http://forums.kearnyontheweb.com/index.php...ost&p=86016

http://forums.kearnyontheweb.com/index.php...ost&p=85790

http://barnson.org/node/640

Read these posts, respond to our main points directly, then we’ll talk. Until you acknowledge our reasons, you cannot evaluate them; and until you evaluate them, there can be no intelligent discussion.

"Many of you may not agree with me. However, when you declare my protest out of bounds, you feed the process by which societies have destroyed their own freedoms and created tyrannies. You may think we Americans are different, but we are not. There is nothing new about this. We are no different than any society that has ever gone through its own tragic undoing. American "unity" is looking more and more like the "unity" that has led to every tyranny the world has ever known. It is reactive, unthinking, and contemptuous of dissent. It shouts slogans and reviles those who decline to participate in its rituals. It employs pretty symbols like yellow ribbons to make people feel good about an ugly war. It demands unquestioning conformity.

"Whether a group is standing for the Pledge or raising an arm and shouting "Sieg Heil!," the process is exactly the same. You may not like that comparison. I do not like having to make it. You cannot reasonably acknowledge the evil of torturing people for dissent, and then on the other hand complain that dissent is out of bounds. A freedom is meaningless if no one ever uses it. If the current attitude continues to prevail, our freedoms will continue to be eroded, and we will become the very thing we have so long opposed.

"I do not sit because standing is too hard, or because reciting the Pledge takes too long. It would be much easier to stand and not have people telling me I am "unpatriotic," a Communist, or spitting on America. Most of these comments have not been made by students, but teachers and staff members, the adults who are supposed to be teaching us citizenship! Standing would indeed be a small act. Sitting is the big one.

"My protest is to save my freedom and yours. The minute my protest is no longer respected is the minute all our freedoms begin to disappear.

"That is why I do it. If you wish to criticize me for it, the least you can do is not misrepresent my reasons."

Those are his reasons. You must address them if you wish to have this discussion.

[Guest Guest]

Would you help a blind or elderly person across a street?

Would you hold a door open for anyone?

Do you know how to say Good Morning!

Shall we never make monetary donations to (what ever good cause).

Do you disregard stops signs and red lights?

Should criminals be incarcerated?

Would you make a passing nod and a smile a criminal act?

Do you and your child know how to say "thank you." "Thank you" for the right to disagree? "Thank you" for the right to a good education? "Thank you" for being nobody and becoming a lawyer? Thank you for not having to be part of a political party or member of a dictatorship to have a decent place to live, food to eat, schools to attend, a job to work at? Imagine having to 'show your papers' to travel between states? "Thank you" for being able to send these silly messages back and forth and the Feds not coming to get you after figuring out who you are? "Thank you" for

Even with all the problems we have life is good here in the United States, the only truly free place on earth.

Matthew better hope the military draft is not re-enacted....after being given a uniform the first thing you learn in the military is how to salute!

Matthew would get a rude awakening in the military, he'd last about 3 days.

[Guest Patriot]

No, you see, that's your problem. You're too stupid to be able to see what conclusions an argument does or does not support. So I'll try to put it in simple enough terms for you to understand.

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you want to, then you are free.

If you decline to stand because you think that makes an important point, then you are free.

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you think you must, then you are not free.

If you cannot decline to stand because people make you so miserable that you don't dare cross them, then you are not free.

That's really not so hard, is it.

Leftist Logic; If you stand and place your hand over your heart to honor the flag and all the American heros who died

defending it, ........you're "not free".

If you disrespect all the American heros by sitting on your skinny ass, ........you're "free".

They'd love you in Iran.

[Guest Guest]

Leftist Logic; If you stand and place your hand over your heart to honor the flag and all the American heros who died

defending it, ........you're "not free".

Typical neocon lie. No one here said that.

Don't you ever get tired of being a scumbag?

If you disrespect all the American heros by sitting on your skinny ass, ........you're "free".

They'd love you in Iran.

No, they'd love you in Iran, because you're a conformist. They'd hate a dissenter who acts on his conscience, like Matthew

[Guest Guest]

Leftist Logic; If you stand and place your hand over your heart to honor the flag and all the American heros who died

defending it, ........you're "not free".

Right-wing dishonesty. That's not what he said, fool:

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you want to, then you are free.

If you decline to stand because you think that makes an important point, then you are free.

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you think you must, then you are not free.

If you cannot decline to stand because people make you so miserable that you don't dare cross them, then you are not free.

If you disrespect all the American heros by sitting on your skinny ass, ........you're "free".

They'd love you in Iran.

Your pathetic attempt at smearing Matthew by associating him with Iran is a joke.

Matthew has the guts to protest what he thinks is wrong. Iran would be a lot more favorable to your mindless conformity, jackass.

[Guest Guest]

Matthew would get a rude awakening in the military, he'd last about 3 days.

You wish.

Just the same, that's longer than you thought he'd last against Paszkiewicz, and you were wrong about that too.

His footprints must ***** ** ** **** ***.

[Guest Guest]

Leftist Logic; If you stand and place your hand over your heart to honor the flag and all the American heros who died

defending it, ........you're "not free".

If you disrespect all the American heros by sitting on your skinny ass, ........you're "free".

They'd love you in Iran.

But that's not what "Guest" said, or anyone says. Here's what "Guest" said:

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you want to, then you are free.

If you decline to stand because you think that makes an important point, then you are free.

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you think you must, then you are not free.

If you cannot decline to stand because people make you so miserable that you don't dare cross them, then you are not free.

That's really not so hard, is it.

So you see, dimwit, freedom isn't a function of whether you recite a pledge. Freedom is a function of the conditions under which you do or don't do it.

[Guest Patriot]

But that's not what "Guest" said, or anyone says. Here's what "Guest" said:

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you want to, then you are free.

If you decline to stand because you think that makes an important point, then you are free.

If you stand to pledge allegiance because you think you must, then you are not free.

If you cannot decline to stand because people make you so miserable that you don't dare cross them, then you are not free.

That's really not so hard, is it.

So you see, dimwit, freedom isn't a function of whether you recite a pledge. Freedom is a function of the conditions under which you do or don't do it.

More Loony Leftist Logic: "If you decline to stand because you think that makes an "important point", then you are "free". Real nice !!

Disrespecting our fallen military who died to protect the flag is OK as long as you make an "important point" in your feeble leftist brain.

Our military sacrifice their lives for our flag and our country, Matthew and other leftists won't sacrifice their "important point" to honor them.

That Paul supports this disrespectful behavior so junior can be "free" is disgusting, he needs to reassess his priorities (or maybe he already has).