Sam, Martha & the Flag

“…I was framed, framed, I was blamed. Well, I never knew nothing but I always get framed…”Framed”. Ritchie Valens. There’s a guy named Sam who lives with his wife Martha in Alexandria, Virginia, and works for the government. Well, it seems Sam & Martha have got everybody all stirred up about a flag they were flying outside their house. As I understand it, Sam & Martha own the house, pay the taxes, and paid somebody the going rate to put up that flagpole. So, to the less woke, this seems to fall under the Georgia Mantra-None uh’ my damn business-their house, their flagpole, their opinion, if you don’t like it, don’t look at it. Drive down the road in Savannah and you’ll find three flags flying from every boat dock-the American flag, the University of Georgia flag, and the Jolly Roger. The only time I remember any controversary was when some guy put up a University of Alabama flag. Nobody served him up to the media, they just walked around muttering, “Crimson Tide my ass, round and round the bowl and down the hole.” As I understand the problem of Sam & Martha, she was irked that a neighbor had put a “F***K Trump” sign in their yard, right in front of the school bus stop. I don’t know Martha personally, so I don’t know if she was defending Trump, offended by the profanity (I hope she never reads my blog), or just having a bad day. Either way, she responded by flying an upside-down American flag, a well-known international distress symbol. Then, the media got involved and all hell broke loose. It revved up the conspiracy freaks, sold a bunch of airtime for the media, and turned nothing into something. I agree the optics about the flag issue aren’t great, but supreme court justices are paid to interpret the constitution and existing law. They’re not rock stars, TV Evangelists, or on-line influencers, looking for the big bucks, and the spotlight. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito grew up in New Jersey, the son of Italian immigrants, graduated from Princeton and Yale Law. He was an officer in the United States Army, a federal prosecutor, and a federal judge, he’s not gaming the system, he is the system. He already has a place in the history books and whether you agree with his conservative views, or not, they’re his and they’re an effective balance to his liberal counterparts. So, argue with Sam about his abortion stance, or other conservative views, but don’t get caught up in this flag fiasco. As Shakespeare said, “it’s much ado about nothing…”