Embarrassment

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
George Bernard Shaw

After I wrote 'The Show Must Go On' a week ago I decided that I was not
going to do anymore Hopkinton bashing for a little bit. Trashing Hopkinton is not my main interest, and repeated criticisms may cause some to read between the lines and infer something that I never meant to convey.
Sadly, something happened today that forced me to change my mind. My wife, daughter, dog, and I went to the town library, which we do regularly because we like to walk there. We live in a pretty rural section of town and are not blessed with a sidewalk near our home, so if we want to walk our baby safely we need to drive to the library or into town to do it. Behind the library there are big fields for playing soccer, and there is also a playground and a sidewalk.
On our way to the library we drove past the town hall where they are
installing new windows, lots and lots of new windows. Further on down the road we passed the Maple Street School where they just installed - well, for lack of a better word - a new sign. This sign is an absolute eyesore that I guess is supposed to be some sort of modern art piece however it adds nothing to the beauty of the town or to the attractiveness of the school, but I digress. The town is also immersed in the task of painting "STOP" on the road at all the intersections that have stop signs. As this now appears to be a yearly exercise in futility, perhaps the next time the town bids this contract we can choose someone who will use paint that can last more than a year? This blog is not about the town using the lowest bidder for painting the road markings, therefore having to re-do it every year. It is also not about the money being spent on the new windows at the Town hall.
When we got to the library my wife pointed my attention towards the two
flags that fly above the library: the United States flag and the State flag of New Hampshire. The words that followed weren't really required but they did add something to the overall feel of the moment: "That's just sad." The entire conversation consisted of those three words, the two of us shaking our heads, and the eventual continuation of our walk around the library. We were always taught that the flag is something that is to be respected, to be looked at with respect and awe. We are planning on raising our daughter with the same respect that we have for the flag. Public buildings all have flags, as they all should, but if they are not going to be cared for properly then they should be removed. There is no reason that any public building should have a flag that is in such poor shape as the one at the Hopkinton library. That flag is an embarrassment to all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this once great country and to those who have served to protect our right to fly that flag. It is an embarrassment to the town and every resident should be ashamed that our library flies such a horrible example of the United States flag above it.
I imagine that funding the library is not a high priority to
our town. The library’s monetary concerns probably fall right above the fireworks show and right below painting STOP on the road at all the stop signs on Hopkinton’s priority list. This is just sad. Somewhere in that budget there should be money for replacing a flag when it gets into disrepair. If the town cannot provide money to care for the flags, then the flags should not be displayed.
As things stand now, there is no reason that the flags at the library
should be in the shape they are in. Due to its flags, the Hopkinton library
is an embarrassment to all of the towns residents. Whoever is in charge of
the flags in town should inspect all the flags to ensure they are in
reasonable condition. The ones needing replacement should simply be
replaced.
All of the flags in town should be removed unless the town is going to
provide the funds necessary for upkeep to the flags. The flag is not
something that we display because we have to, it is displayed because we
want to pay tribute to this once great country and all those who have died
protecting it. By the looks of the flags at the library, it is obvious that
the town of Hopkinton does not deserve the honor of displaying the flag.