Baseball, the Anthem and a Safe Flag

Great baseball moments:

* Reggie Jackson’s three homers for the Yankees in one game to beat us in the 1977 World Series.

* Orel Hershiser setting the record in 1988 for consecutive scoreless innings, topping the record set in 1968 by another Dodger pitcher, Don Drysdale.

* And, of course, the injured Kirk Gibson pinch-hitting in the bottom of the ninth inning against the unhittable Dennis Eckersley as we faced the Oakland Athletics in the first game of the 1988 World Series. As many Americans remember, Gibson, in his only at-bat of the series, hit a home run to cap a dramatic come-from-behind win and propel us to a World Championship.

As I look back at the American history I have been privileged to be a part of, I can’t help thinking about the other part of our American pastime--the respect we show for one another and the nation when we take off our caps, face the American flag and sing the national anthem before every major league game. For you see, baseball, like the American flag and national anthem, ties everyone in this great country of ours together.

One of the greatest things we can teach the children of tomorrow--respect for God and country--can’t just be taught for two minutes before every baseball game.

One of the best ways we can teach this respect is by protecting our flag from physical desecration. Too many Americans do not realize that the Supreme Court in 1989, by just one vote, declared that this behavior is protected “speech” under the 1st Amendment. Five judges took away the right of the people to protect their flag, a right exercised since our birth, defended by the justices on five previous Supreme Courts and by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, who helped adopt the first flag and write the 1st Amendment.

Today, because of the Supreme Court’s decision, the flag is just another piece of cloth that can be burned and soiled with impunity.

In the rotunda of the state capitol in Lansing, Mich., a young man wiped his rear end with the American flag at the governor’s 1997 State of the State address. The event was taped by the NBC affiliate as the crowd chanted, “What do we want? Revolution. When do we want it? Now.” Police stood by and watched because the court’s say this behavior is “free speech.”

Contrast this incident with one of the most heroic acts ever to take place on the field during a major league baseball game.

On April 25, 1976, as we played the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, I witnessed a flag-burning. In the middle of the fourth inning, as the fielders were warming up, two protesters ran on the field. The men quickly ran past left fielder Jose Cardenal and stopped in left-center field. One of the men stooped to his knees, opened a can of lighter fluid and soaked the American flag with it. We all watched dumbstruck as the man pulled out a match and tried to light the flag on fire.

To the astonishment of the protesters, the fans and those of us on the field, all-star outfielder Rick Monday ran at the protesters, grabbed the burning flag and ran toward the dugout.

The fans immediately rose to their feet in recognition of Monday’s heroic act. And without any prompting that I can remember, the whole crowd stood and began to fill the stadium with an impromptu rendition of “God Bless America.”

News outlets around the country included the highlight that night on the evening news. Today, the flag-burning incident is still shown in highlights. And everyone who saw the incident then or now knows that the protesters were doing something terrible, offensive and wrong.

People on the other side of this issue will try to tell you that flag desecration or events like the one in Michigan don’t happen often, aren’t offensive enough or that they just aren’t a big deal. They don’t believe that 20 acts of flag desecration in the last 18 months is very many. But these people are wrong, just like the protesters that day in Dodger Stadium were wrong.

It is not how often a flag is desecrated that makes it wrong. Just because cross burnings don’t happen every day doesn’t mean that they are no longer wrong. If your son or daughter is caught breaking the law, do you tell them that what they did was not wrong because they’d never broken the law before?

In poll after poll, more than 80% of Americans say that they want a consitutional amendment that protects the flag. Several statewide polls show similar results. In addition, legislatures in 49 states have passed resolutions urging Congress to pass the flag protection amendment.

By joining the House in passing the amendment, the Senate can protect an honored symbol that ties every American together, while preserving our 1st Amendment rights. Our representatives and senators can also send a very important message to the young people of this country--that respect for God and country is basic to what our nation stands for and is an ideal worth honoring and protecting.