Flags fly low for Pope

A friend called today to rant about the U.S. flag being flown at half -mast this week. She began her life as a catholic schoolgirl and then converted in her late teens. But she was seething.

At first I thought about how I barely pay attention to the news related to the Pope's death (there so much it's a tricky act). But then I realized, yet again, civil liberties were in question. Why in a country filled with people from all backgrounds; religious, ethnic, racial, economic, geographic and geopolitical to name a few, should we bring our flag down in honor of the church? When other leaders die (or as we now politely say, pass) should we bring the flag to half -mast or is this again a power-laden sign from the Prez and the Governator? Fire the teachers and praise the lord.

Will this commandeering of authority be considered the first in a series of laws based on "action speaks louder than words"? What precedents are set up and what acquiescence of rights are we agreeing to by letting this go unnoticed? Isn't there a separation of church and state? But above all else I wonder, when will fly our flags at half-mast for those who have died on both sides of the war in Iraq, among all the other nameless and faceless whose lives we undervalue with regularity.