One Facebook user was not impressed by his argument, saying, "How did you become so blindly patriotic? First of all, the college you were referencing in your rant about the American flag is a private college and doesn't receive federal funding. However … the very essence of freedom in this country is our right to speak out against the flag, which is a mere symbol. If you take away that right, then we have lost all freedom."
Rowe shared her comment on his Facebook page and issued a response, taking issue with her assertion that the flag is just a symbol:
Off The Wall Susanne McDaniel writes... How did you become so blindly patriotic? First of all, the college you were...
Posted by Mike Rowe on Friday, December 2, 2016
But if you really believe our flag is nothing but a “mere symbol,” equally suitable for flying or burning, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable if the people you work with suddenly started coming to the office in pointy white hats fashioned from bedsheets? Would that be a problem for you? Or how about The Rainbow Flag, favored by the LGBTQ community? Would it be OK if people started burning that? If not, why not? I mean, it’s only a symbol, right?
The thing about “mere symbols” Susanne, is that they represent “mere ideas,” and “mere ideas” are the backbone of “mere humanity.” In the case of the flag, we’re talking about ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution – a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.
Finally, Rowe addressed her claim that Hampshire College – which has restored the American flag to its campus since Rowe’s original post – doesn’t receive any federal money.
As for Hampshire College, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. If you check the link I provided in my original post, you’ll see that several forms of federal funding are readily available to their students. Also, according to their site, you’ll notice that the flag is once again flying at full staff. I’ll take no credit for this, if you offer no blame. Deal?
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