Article

Making sense of the grand old flag

In our democratic society all opinions should be heard and respected. I understand this, but Becky Green apparently does not.
Joseph Lopez -

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Old Glory, the American flag, has come under much scrutiny. People have turned to the flag as a symbol of national pride, unity, and mourning, the ultimate emblem of solidarity uniting the diverse peoples of this country under one red, white and blue cloth.

So of course, as the flag has begun its ascent across the U.S., it’s not surprising that the anti-Americans among us have come out in flocks attempting to vanquish this patriotic fervor. You can read about the “stop the flag” movement in almost any of the school newspapers, and if you read the papers you will probably come across and remember the name of Becky Green.

Green, the OCC Rep., has earned herself notoriety as a result of mentions in pipedream, The Binghamton Review, Off, and Fair Use. She is a valiant crusader for the views of the left and the views of the minority. A recent example of such is her fight for unionization in the continuing Sodexho worker’s union debate. More vivaciously though, and garnering more attention, Green has fought against the displaying of the American flag at SA meetings.

Green promised that if a resolution passed which called for the display of the American Flag at SA meetings that she would quit. Thankfully, however, Green did not keep this promise. I say thankfully because even though I disagree with Becky Green’s opinion, she represents a portion of the student body that, like all other portions of the student body deserves to have a representative to voice their opinion. In our democratic society all opinions should be heard and respected. I understand this, but Becky Green apparently does not.

Green returned to the SA meetings displaying a sign that read, “The American flag dose not represent me, my opinions, ideas, or ideals.” That’s fine for Becky Green; she has every right to express her opinion. But what about those of us who believe that the American Flag does represent our ideas and ideals, as well as our unity as a country in this time of crisis? Our opinions should be respected as well. If the majority of the student body and the Student Assembly wishes to have the flag displayed, then their opinions should be recognized just as much as those of the minority. The voice of the few should never be silenced, but at the same time it should not be allowed to disrupt the voice of the many.

The Oct. 23 pipedream editorial mentioned a resolution in regard to the Sodexho debate. It called for a student vote on whether or not Sodexho should sign a Right to Organize Agreement. The article stated that “if a majority of students agreed, that request would be sent to Sodexho…but if the students voted no, would a similar memo be forwarded?…If Becky Green has her way, probably not.” We see a similar situation in the debate over the American flag. Recent events suggest that Green is not attempting to promote the view of the minority so much as she is attempting to overturn the view of the majority. In a democratic society, however (a society Green continues to live and operate in while she simultaneously criticizes it), this is not how things operate. In our society, all views are heard, respected, and debated, and the view with the most votes wins.

If Green is to avoid being branded a hypocrite, she will have to learn to respect the views of all the people on this campus, and not just those that agree with her ideals.

There is a flag planted proudly on my bedroom window, and I don’t intend to take it down anytime soon because someone else’s interpretation of what it stands for disagrees with mine.