Daniel Suddeath: SUDDEATH COLUMN: A false flag indeed

Jun. 29—In Glasgow, Kentucky, a sizable American flag flies atop the hill over Fort Williams.

On more than one occasion, I found myself at the former Union post taking photographs for my former newspaper. On a good day, you find yourself alone at the historic Civil War site. A gust of wind catches Old Glory and the soothing sound of the Stars and Stripes fluttering with the breeze serves as a gentle anthem for the quiet souls who are buried in the cemetery below the fort.

It's almost impossible to look at the flag and not feel emotion. For someone like me, gratitude flows freely. Understandably for those who have different backgrounds, other feelings may come to mind.

What will we think about this Independence Day when we see the flag? The past three years have been tough. Many are questioning just how independent we truly are. Others are destroying our foundation with lies and flat earth levels of ignorance.

State Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican from Seymour, suggested in a recent Facebook post that the Uvalde school shooting may have been a "false flag" operation. For those not astute in 21st Century paranoia, false flag has become a catch phrase for those who believe the "Deep State" is out to get us. We give government too much credit. We're doing a fine job of getting ourselves.

Of course we've been lied to by those who govern us. We've also been lied to by those seeking fame and fortune from tragedy.

Alex Jones, the father of contemporary "false flag" conspiracy theories and lies, lost multiple court cases after failing to provide documentation in discovery after accusing parents who lost children in the Sandy Hook shooting of being actors.

Like Jones, Lucas infers that the government could be complicit in killing children so they can take away our rights. To paraphrase Lucas' comments to The Statehouse File, the Uvalde shooter's motives and means were questionable, and the police response irrational. He's quoted in The Statehouse File story as suggesting that possibly "a false flag was allowed to happen to use that as an excuse to come after our gun rights."

While it's unlikely that a politician who makes such inflammatory comments after 19 children and two adults were murdered inside of a school has much ability for reason, the mere facts immediately disqualify his allegations.

School shootings in America are common. Since Columbine in 1999, almost nothing has changed. Sure we give some funds for school resource officers and some schools have more protective entrance ways, but buying a gun in America is easy. It's incredibly easy in Indiana. Thanks to politicians like Lucas, carrying a gun in public in Indiana will be simple thanks to a new law that starts July 1.

Gun sales are through the roof. But this isn't a gun debate editorial piece. Feel how you want about guns, but to suggest they're being taken away is about as believable as saying you can't find a job in the current market.

Our country is losing its way because we're believing lies from politicians who will say anything to get a vote. We've come to hate the other side so much we'll accept just about any sort of demeaning and outlandish behavior as long as the person voted for our chosen candidate in the last election.

The Indiana General Assembly is convening in July and is expected to take up abortion regulations. Since we've heard so much about how important the lives of children are to our lawmakers, we should expect our Republican leadership to publicly admonish Lucas for his comments about 19 murdered school kids.

People who know better yet accept or even spread lies for political purposes are anything but patriotic. Our country is stained with sins such as slavery and a lack of equality for women, but history has shown that a day of reckoning comes because the spirit of our nation is strong.

It's why the American flag, not a Confederate one, flies over Fort Williams. In 1863, Confederate troops successfully captured the Union post. The battle had been won, but two years later, the South lost the war.

This Independence Day, think about the Red, White and Blue. Focus on how far we've come, where we need to go, and what freedom truly means. Don't be distracted by the false flags of lies and phony patriotism.

Daniel Suddeath is the editor of the News and Tribune. He can be reached at 812-206-2130, or by email at daniel.suddeath@newsandtribune.com.