Our flag has been co-opted into a tool to divide the nation. I want to protect it.
I distinctly remember the day when the American flag became such an essential symbol in my life. I was 8, standing on the sidelines of our local Memorial Day parade, waiting to see my father drive by in a fire truck. He was a firefighter in the local department, which had several pieces of apparatus in the parade. A cacophony of sirens and horns announced the impending arrival as they drove down the main street of our small New England town, their arrival at my location slowed by a color guard of old men marching proudly with our nation's colors.
It's easy to understand why 8-year-old me was initially upset at this slow-moving procession. My dad was in a fire truck. I wanted to see my dad and tell the world it was my dad in that fire truck. However, something changed that day, watching the honor guard march. Its ranks of veterans who had fought in our most significant wars proudly honor our nation with its most revered symbol — the American flag.
The American flag: 50 Stars, 13 stripes and three colors. Red, White and Blue! The symbol of the "Great American Experiment" by our founding fathers to govern based on the principles of democracy and federalism as outlined in our constitution. A symbol of freedom, liberty and the patriotic spirit of this great nation. A symbol of our nation's commitment to the ideals of democracy. The reminder that countless lives have been lost to uphold these ideals and guard them against those who wish to take them from us.
More: Point of View: A Flag Day salute
This week, by proclamation, is National Flag Week, culminating in Flag Day on June 14. It is a time to celebrate our nation's most enduring symbol, an opportunity to fly Old Glory and bask in her symbolism. It is a time to honor our most recognizable symbol as a nation.
I will not be flying the American flag this week, which breaks my heart.
I am proud to be an American. I have attended our nation's oldest military institution, sworn to protect and defend our Constitution as an officer in the Army, and risked my life in combat as my solemn duty to this country. However, I will not be flying the flag this week.
George Washington, a Founding Father and our nation's first president, warned in his farewell speech against the dangers of political divisiveness and emphasized how it could lead to a "frightful despotism." He feared that political factions might work against the interest of the common good. George Washington's fears are being realized as our country continues to dive further into steep political divides. Sadly, our nation's most significant symbol has also been co-opted into a tool to divide this great nation instead of bringing us all together.
More: Teaching should not be religion nor Western culture, but America and for what it stands | Opinion
Ironically, the ability to use our nation's greatest symbol in whatever way one wishes is one of the reasons that this is such a great nation. However, as the adage goes, just because you can, does not mean you should. Never should our nation's greatest symbol be used to divide us. It is not a political tool. Rather, it should be a symbol that unites us all for the common good of each other.
I will not be flying the flag this week. Not because I am un-American, unpatriotic or don't believe in what it symbolizes. I am not flying the flag because I want to protect it from the wrong symbolism created by the political divide in this country. My allegiance will always be to Old Glory, the American flag, for what it truly stands for: a nation incapable of being divided, where there is liberty and justice for all.
Robert Fabich is a U.S. Army veteran with 15 years of service and two combat deployments.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why an Army veteran will not fly the American flag on Flag Day
