The author of “In mourning (9/8)” clearly does not see all people equally.
Is a female LDS missionary any less important, particularly to those in this valley, than a member of Congress?
I would state not, but the author is forgetting two things.
First, the flag lowered to half-staff outside the Administration Building is not a public flag.
BYU is a private university and can do what they please with their flag. Is the author saying if I had a flagpole at my house, it would be inappropriate to lower it in memory of my daughter?
Second, he is forgetting an essential humanness while trumpeting in the name of protocol.
It is natural and fundamentally human to express sorrow at a death or loss.
If one such expression of that is perhaps a few degrees away from a flag etiquette code, well, I see nothing wrong with that.
I pray we can all make the most of our time here at BYU, commit ourselves to excellence and personal growth and not lose sight of what this great place is all about.
Jonathan Bean
Provo
