St. Thomas Aquinas stated in the second chapter of his Summa Contra Gentiles that if he were writing for the Jews, he would use the authority of the Old Testament, and if he were writing for Christians, he would use the authority of the New Testament. But since he was writing for the Mohammedans who do not accept the authority of either, he must “have recourse to the natural reason, to which all men are forced to give their assent.”
Reason is the common denominator of all human beings. It represents the possibility of turning discord into concord. The rejection of reason is the rejection of something that is essentially human and therefore leads to violence. Turning our attention to the civil strife involving the conflict between black and white that continues to plague America, reason represents the primacy of “gray matter” since that is the color of the brain and is a natural way of reconciling black and white.
Black lives matter, and so, too, white lives matter. All lives matter. But so does gray matter matter. The coolness of reason offers hope for understanding and reconciliation. Reason is in accord with truth and justice. When reason is rejected, so are these indispensable virtues. The universal value of reason should not be contested. Let us all be reasonable.
Certain recent events in the United States involving a disrespect for the flag have led to intense controversy. It is said that an athlete has a right not to honor the flag when the National Anthem is being played at the beginning of a sporting event. There are many rights a person has which are imprudent and counterproductive. The range of rights far exceeds that of the range of good ideas. A person has the right to paint his house bright orange, or wear a five foot hat to work, but these are not good ideas. It seems that many Americans have forgotten the significance of their own flag and why it should not be disrespected.
Francis Scott Key provided an important piece of Americana when he wrote the lyrics to his country’s National Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”. The circumstances that inspired his immortal words constitute a significant and dramatic moment in American history. It was the War of 1812. The British had been bombarding Fort McHenry for 25 hours. Scott Key, a lawyer, was aboard a British ship negotiating a prisoner exchange. He was not allowed to return to shore and had to watch the bombardment 8 miles away. The British finally gave up trying to destroy the fort, allowing the smoke to clear. The lawyer, who was also a poet, strained to see whether the flag could been seen. “By the dawn’s early light,” he could see those “broad stripes and bright stars”. Each of his four stanzas ends with reference to the “star-spangled banner” waving triumphantly, gloriously symbolizing “the land of the free and the home of the brave”.
The song gained immense popularity and was played during public events, such as July 4 celebrations. On July 27, 1889, Benjamin Tracy, Secretary of the Navy, signed a general order making “The Star Spangled Banner” the official song to be played at the raising of the flag. It was played during the seventh inning stretch at each of the 1918 World Series games and became a staple preceding innumerable sporting events after that. President Herbert Hoover signed a bill in 1931 officially adopting “The Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem of the United States of America.
The flag represents an ideal. By disrespecting the flag, one is, at the same time, disrespecting that ideal. One may protest the evil he sees in many ways. As former US Representative Ron Paul has remarked, “Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it’s wrong”. But to denigrate the ideal that the flag represents is to attack the very reality that one hopes will remain intact. It is a contradictory strategy. It is like slapping your dad in the face and then asking for a raise in your allowance. It is rejecting the ideals and then demanding their implementation. The ideal is unassailable; it is the deviation from the ideal that should be corrected.
Congressman Joe Barton calls to our attention the fact that “Our flag honors those who have fought to protect it, and is a reminder of the sacrifice of our nation’s founders and heroes. As the ultimate icon of America’s storied history, the Stars and Stripes represents the very best of this nation.” And Ronald Reagan warned that “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
Reason tells us not to bite the hand that feeds us or to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In 1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. added a fifth stanza to the “Star-Spangled Banner” that includes the following words which are a severe indictment against anyone who fails to respect the flag:
If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
To protest the flag is to make a protest that is so broad that nothing remains to serve as the matrix for improvement. In the absence of the pincushion, the pins have no home. Gray matter indicates that if we want improvements to be made, we ought not to rail against that which stands to receives the improvements. Reason tells us to avoid strategies that are self-destructive and adopt those that preserve the fount while correcting the flow.
Dr. Donald DeMarco is a Senior Fellow of Human Life International. He is professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College in Cromwell, CT, and a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. His latest works, How to Remain Sane in a World That is Going Mad and Poetry That Enters the Mind and Warms the Heart are available through Amazon.com.
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