Wrapped In the Flag, Carrying A Cross

I have always been fascinated by how we use symbols to identify ourselves and our ideas. We crunchy-granola hippie types have our peace sign, and right wingers are fascinated with eagles, brilliantly parodied in the opening montage of The Colbert Report.

Nationalistic Christians crack me up, because a simple cross is never enough for them: they have to wrap it in the flag (literally), place it in Lady Liberty’s hands, or--best yet, clutch it in an eagle’s talons.

We may laugh at these lame displays, but they are scary, too. It’s scary because the implication is that God is on our side and therefore all our actions are justified, no matter how heinous. But this is the worst sort of blasphemy, since God knows no nationality, and she doesn’t pick sides in our conflicts. When I see things like this I just feel sorry for these misguided Christians.

So when I see something on a Tennessee blog like this:

I really want to know how different it is from
...this