Unity or Disunity?

This Flag Day, which Flag do You Support?


By: Brian Sikma

On this Flag Day we celebrate the greatness of our national symbol of freedom, our Flag. But today in the state of Massachusetts, a birthplace of freedom, the legislature voted against allowing the people to vote on a marriage amendment. The question before the legislature was whether or not the people of Massachusetts have a right to voice their opinion on the sanctity and centrality of marriage. Right now the Bay State is required by judicial decree to recognize same-sex couples for marriage. If at least 50 state legislators had approved of the marriage amendment, the measure would have come before the people in the fall of 2008.

Today's vote was preceded by protests on both sides of the issue as pro-marriage supporters demonstrated in support of marriage, and anti-marriage gay-equality supporters demonstrated in favor of the destruction marriage. The one side favors unity and understands the foundations of our national heritage. The other side favors disunity cloaked in the guise of equality. They favor a future in which a mom and a dad are irrelevant. They favor a future with no moral boundaries, a future of moral anarchy and chaos, a future divorced from the principles of freedom and responsibility.

Tony Perkins, a former Marine and President of the Family Research Council, summed up the situation on this Flag Day well:

"More than 200 years ago, the Second Continental Congress resolved that one flag would represent America to the world. It ordered that "the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Today, on the very date reserved to honor the flag's proud and glorious history, what was seen waving throughout Boston wasn't Old Glory, but a handful of rainbow flags, symbols not of unity but of division. The colors crowned a contentious battle for marriage, which, this afternoon, suffered a vicious blow at the hands of the Massachusetts legislature. Spurning their own constituents, state lawmakers voted 45 to 151 to take the decision of protecting marriage out of voters' hands. In the end, all three branches of government conspired to frustrate the desire of the voters, ignoring over 170,000 residents who signed petitions, wrongly believing that the principle of representative government would prevail. News outlets like the Boston Globe hinted that Gov. Deval Patrick (D) was buying off votes with political favors as late as yesterday. National politicians also weighed in, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), and Chairman of the DNC Howard Dean, fearing the issue would become a rallying cry for the 2008 elections. Their actions today may prove to be the very motivator they feared. After Massachusetts, pro-family forces across the nation will be even more motivated to pursue a federal amendment protecting marriage. Despite the shameless games and political maneuvers, we must not give up on the fight. The flag that has led us into every contest for America will lead us now, reminding us of the founding ideals, like marriage and family, that so many have died to protect."