Please, can we be a bit more civil? I’ve been noticing the word attached to car bumpers a bit lately, commenting on certain public officials, much to my dismay. Certain words have no place in public discourse, despite their otherwise rather ordinary but unfortunate use, and yesterday I arrived at a bit of a breaking point.
One of my neighbors, who I do not know, hung a brand new black flag off his house that has the president’s name preceded by an expletive. As I drove by, I said to myself, someone ought to do something. But who? The town council, the cops, someone?
Ultimately I decided that I was that someone, as it was really my problem. So I stopped in and suggested that I’d prefer that he not fly that offensive word. I suggested that though I didn’t object to his declaration of political preference, which was pretty obvious from his other flags, his latest statement was too much.
Obviously it’s his choice as to what he and others choose to do with such flags and bumper stickers, but I hope that they recognize the role that they can play in helping us regain our public courtesies by taking them down. Please.
Harold Burnett
Winthrop
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