Syrian refugees; First Amendment; flag etiquette

Syrian refugees

I’ve read of a Middle Eastern husband and his very young, pregnant wife who were fleeing from a murderous dictator.

Their reason for migrating was to save the life of their yet-unborn child.

On their way to safety, they were denied even temporary housing and took up shelter in a barn.

Maybe the Syrians asking for safety should take the names of Mary and Joseph.

Will Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz never learn from history?

Did we wipe out all memories of World War II at the turn of the century?

I’m all for being secure and protecting the nation from the ignorant vermin that is, and supports, ISIS.

But I’m not in favor of punishing innocent people trying to escape the terror in their homelands.

Do we not remember sending 110,000-120,000 Japanese-Americans to internment camps?

No questions asked. No vetting.

Do we not remember sending a shipload of Jewish refugees back to Europe to die in Nazi death camps?

All the Syrian refugees want is a safe place to live and raise their children.

Is that too much to ask?

Are we going to deny that request and send them back to be slaughtered?

I certainly hope not.

First Amendment

The first words in the first sentence in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights state:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

So when presidential candidates like Donald Trump say we must exclude, register, track or discriminate against Muslims, I have to wonder if they have any understanding of how our government works and if they have ever read our Constitution.

Because these are the first words in the Bill of Rights, I assume that this was the single most important issue to our Founders.

Flag etiquette

In a time when people and businesses try to show how patriotic they are, may I make a simple request?

When your flag becomes worn, faded and tattered, do the right thing: Retire that flag and replace it!

As the wife of a retired member of the U.S. Air Force and the mother of an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, our flag means so much to me.

Every day, I see at least one flag that needs to be retired with dignity. Any Boy Scout troop would be happy to do it for you.

So, please, everyone, let’s make this a New Year’s resolution.

Is your business or home guilty of disrespecting our flag? Let’s all show our patriotism!

One other thing: If you display your flag at night, please make sure it is illuminated with proper respect.

Believe me when I say that it means a lot to the military personnel to see so many flags flying when they get off those planes from overseas!

What a welcome home!

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Syrian refugees; First Amendment; flag etiquette."