In a town where a huge concrete statue of Christ looms large and one of its biggest tourist attractions is a dramatic retelling of the life of Jesus, who would believe a patriotic display of United States flags would spark the outcry?

Eureka Springs -- we know, enough said -- is the site of these shenanigans, according to a recent report in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The president of the Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Morris Pate and American Legion Walker-Wilson Post No. 9 came up with the wild, wacky idea in an American town to display the nation's stars and stripes on 22 poles along Main Street.

Radicals!

Some in this liberal bastion rebelled, calling the plan for the permanent installation of flags "right wing," "jingoism" and, perhaps the most offensive description, "visual pollution."

No matter how one feels about the idea in Eureka Springs, it takes a special kind of self-centered insensitivity to the national symbol to ever refer to it as pollution. If someone wants to talk about pollution, let's consider what happens when people burn this precious national symbol.

Of course, this symbol stands for all the greatness of our country, including the First Amendment that permits such demonstrations. It should never be illegal in a nation that values free speech and expression for anyone to burn or desecrate the national flag. But the act should be rejected by people who love the nation's ideals, even if we don't always get the execution right.

The chamber and others raised about $3,000 in private funds to pay for the display of flags.

There's no question one political party tends to use the ol' Red, White and Blue in its promotional materials a bit more than the other, but the United States flag cannot become the property of any segment or special interest in the nation. Our national colors are "right wing?" Really? Why in the world would any liberal want to allow everything that flag stands for to be co-opted by conservatives? This reaction to putting flags along Main Street was over the top.

Supporters have backed off -- no chamber leader would set out to make his town "The City That Rejected Ol' Glory." Instead, they plan to put up one larger pole with a bigger flag at a prominent location where Main Street and U.S. 62 intersect. Hopefully, everyone can figure out a way to embrace that without fighting to a compromise that demands two smaller poles flying a rainbow flag on one side and a "Don't Tread On Me" flag on the other.

This town is often called Little Switzerland, but it survives and thrives right here in the heartland of a great nation. Has its famed population of unique people gotten so anti-culture that a mass show of national pride is off base? A proposal to celebrate this symbol ought not inspire harsh words and disrespect. If the display created legitimate safety issues, then address those, but to call the display "pollution" is simply going to far.

For those in Eureka Springs who still place a value on this nation's heritage, we appreciate the efforts.

"Proud to be an American" should not denote one political viewpoint or another, and display of the United States flag should not be a partisan issue. The same flag waves over Ronald Reagan's America as over Barack Obama's.

What a country!

Commentary on 04/01/2014