It is unfortunate that so close to the 15th Anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, there are firefighters in the town of Poughkeepsie that have to fight and negotiate to place American flags on their fire apparatus.
While the controversy in the upstate community has now largely been settled, I’m not surprised that there are still people from all across our country who are still upset with what happened.
Public outcry is understandable, given that our nation’s brave men and women who choose to serve the public and risk their lives each and every day as firefighters do so because they love their neighbors, their communities and their country. It’s equally upsetting and disgraceful that anyone would claim that an American flag could be seen as a “distraction.”
We support our brothers and sisters just up the Hudson River to proudly display their affection and commitment to our nation, especially right before they are asked to perform life-saving operations, such as running into a burning buildings to save lives.
The American flag has, for hundreds of years, served as a point of pride and has given a sense of inspiration and courage to those who are about to throw themselves into harm’s way. Our flag can have many different meanings, depending on who is looking at it, but for our first responders, it’s just as important to their job as any other tool in their kit.
The power of symbolism should never be dismissed or trivialized, which is why in New York City we proudly support and defend our first responders’ rights to proudly adorn their firehouses and fire apparatus with the American flag.
I will say, however, that I am happy to be living in a country where we can freely express our anguish and frustration over matters such as theses and are allowed to engage in vigorous debate over its merits. It’s just another reason why many of our brave men and women who serve in the FDNY proudly display the American flag wherever they go.
Battalion Chief James A. Lemonda is the current president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, representing more than 2,600 active and 4,600 retired men and women. UFOA members are lieutenants, captains, battalion and deputy chiefs, medical officers, and supervising fire marshals of the New York City Fire Department. The FDNY serves more than 8 million residents.
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