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Viewpoint: Riddle me this, label me that

By Shirley Bianchi

Symbols have long been used to denote an affiliation with something or someone. Flags, crosses, lapel pins, political buttons, you name it, there is one for almost anything one can think of.

So I find this current discussion of American flag lapel pins denoting patriotism sort of interesting. Women who do not wear flag lapel pins are given a pass because the color of their outfit might clash with colors on the lapel pin. I find this double standard between men and women interesting as well.

Are we to assume that all women are so patriotic they automatically don’t need to wear a flag pin? Or are all women assumed to be not patriotic enough to even be required to wear a lapel pin? Or are most women so much more used to decoration that they recognize that what one wears has little to do with what one believes or feels?

I recently found some flag lapel pins stashed in a cupboard from some time ago. They have little batteries attached and after some polishing to get rid of the corrosion, the little pins really lit up. Red, white and blue lights rotate around the pin rather quickly, and are really very pretty.

So does this mean if I wear an American flag lapel pin that lights up that I am more patriotic than someone who merely wears a plain old pin that doesn’t flash? And if so, how does one determine the level of patriotism inherent in the wearing of a flashing pin? If a pin only flashed one color, would one be less patriotic than someone who wore a pin that flashed all three colors? Or is this discussion becoming just a tad silly?

Maybe we should just drop the subject altogether. Especially during presidential debates.

WHY GO ANYWHERE ELSE?