Whose Flag Do We Honor? Whose Flag Do We Blame?

Whose flag do we honor, whose flag do we blame? Are they separate or one in the same?

When terrorists murder a collection of civilians in the Western world we honor their flag.

When 43 people are killed by terrorists in the Middle East
When do we honor their flag?

When 2,996 civilians killed in the homeland leads to 180,000 civilians killed abroad
When do we honor their flag?

When 200 innocent children die in targeted drone strikes in the Eastern world
When do we honor their flag?

When 164,000 civilians die in a drug war spreading fear and protecting no one
When do we honor their flag?

When 11 workers and 7,000 animals die from corporate negligence from an oil spill?
When do we honor their flag?

When 1,400 dead from a broken levee were only guilty of being poor
When do we honor their flag?

When 1,129 laborers crushed in a collapsed building died from greed
When do we honor their flag?

When a young man is killed for fitting the profile of a criminal
When do we honor his flag?

When 27 people are murdered from automobiles known to be faulty
When do we honor their flag?

When our conditioned appetite makes 10,000 species go extinct every year
When do we honor their flag?

When a homeless woman freezes to death in the winter despite an abundance of housing
When do we honor her flag?

When 795 million people go hungry in the world despite an abundance of food
When do we honor their flag?

When corporate scientists cover up climate change studies that may save the world
When do we honor Earth’s flag?

For world suffering and structural violence
When do we honor a flag?

For problems that we are ALL responsible for
What is the purpose and effect of a flag?

Originally published at www.hippiefuturist.me on November 17, 2015.