Sunday, February 19, 2012

Oh New Jersey...

A very good friend of mine posted this last week on Facebook...yes I re-opened it...picture sharing while on our trip is much easier this way...anyway....

What are your thoughts on New Jersey Governor Christ Christie's decision to lower American flags at government buildings to half-staff Saturday to honor singer Whitney Houston on the day of her funeral?

This would be total act of disrespect for all of those who have put their lives on the line for this country, even more so for the men and women who have given their lives ... No celebrity should be held with the same honor as those who have served our country ... We don't fly the flag at half mast for all the soldiers that have come home in body bags.... I'm sorry but this makes me sick , Men and women have died for our honor. but a drug out singer gets a flag half mass for what???
NOT ONLY...is this a HUGE act of disrespect for everyone who has put their lives ON THE LINE to PROTECT people like Whitney Houston and the Governor of New Jersey but it is insulting that he would even think to suggest such a valiant show of respect be put forth to a diva, superstar who did what? Addict herself to drugs...go in and out of rehab...reach iconic status in the music industry...sorry but
BIG DEAL!!! WHO CARES!

I have friends of whom I consider my dear family, closest friends I will ever have who have lost their loved one's...these are the men and women who get the honor of having the flag lowered because it is an honor...not a gimmick...not a show....not a stage...an HONOR!!  They sacrifice their lives, their families when they go to work every day...superstars sacrifice what? Their personal lives? Being stressed out and hounded by the paparazzi is no excuse for any behavior you put yourself through.
Whitney Houston was a sensational music artist with an incredible voice...she won awards...she's in the Guiness Book of World Records...GOOD FOR HER!! NONE of this constitutes an honorary gesture involving lowering the American Flag to half mass...you may as well have played TAP's at her funeral...
Again...we still have soldiers dying in the war...it's not over...but do you know why you don't know? Do you see every flag at half mass every day?...No...so it never crosses your mind unless you hear something on the news or read something in the paper.  
Flying the flag as half mass would be like giving her daughter the flag...my friends don't have Grammy's...The President of the United States has never invited them into the Oval Office and our spouses work for him; they don't entertain him.
This makes me sick and yes it is an over due post but I had to get my thoughts out there...it is sad she died but it warrants NO act like this. She was found in her hotel bath tub...not on a battlefield...not defending our country
This act is earned not received by just anyone...If I were her family, I would be ashamed that the Governor would even suggest such a thing
Say what you will but in the end I stand by my word and this is a shameful act of disrespect to every service member.
Lisa
5 of the many men and women who receive this honor...we all miss you guys!!