The Black And Silver Cross

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​The Black And Silver Cross

      I received the following comment from a friend on my post from 8/25/2023 on the first Republican debate (https://www.ailantha.com/blog/my-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-debate):

Sheila                                                                                                                      8/29/2023 
11:32:19 am
If someone feels a need to wear a flag pin, they automatically lose favor with me. I hate blatant expressions of supposed insincere patriotism.
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        My friend Sheila was referring to an observation I made in that post that all the candidates on the stage wore Trump-style blue suits and red ties, as well as flag pins on their lapels, 

...except for Nikki Haley, who eschewed both the signature Trump look and the flag lapel pin,

...which I deemed a bold fashion move.      
        As for Sheila's comment...I agree in principle that wearing a flag, or any symbol, doesn't necessarily mean that one represents what that symbol is supposed to stand for. 
           Which reminds me of the time years ago when one of my daughters went on a high school spring break trip to Italy. Before she left she asked me what I'd like her to bring me back.
             I described for her the delicate little black and gold filigree cross on a chain that I bought many years ago while in Florence but lost a few years later.  Here I am wearing that cross.

    My daughter brought me back the closest thing she could find to what I'd described:  a rather large black crucifix edged in silver. 

           Though this was a far more ostentatious piece of religious representation than I felt comfortable wearing, it was, after all, a gift from my teenaged daughter, who'd been thoughtful enough to seek it out for me during her trip. And so, to show my appreciation to my daughter, I started wearing this big black and silver cross on a chain around my neck.
            Everywhere I went people would comment on my cross. Strangers with benign expressions on their faces would approach me and make mention of my cross, their comments often reflecting their assumption that, because I was publicly displaying such a big, showy Christian symbol, I must therefore be an exemplary Christian.                    People sometimes asked me if I was a nun. An elderly back gentleman once came up to me and said,  "I walk with the Lord and I can see from your cross that you do, too."  It was at that moment thought to myself, Geez, I could be a Heil-Hitlering Nazi psycho serial killer! I could be a total cheating fraud, a lying, self-serving, no-conscience con artist! I could be dishonest, disreputable and disgusting, but all I have to do is I wear this over-sized cross and people automatically think I must be a good, decent person!
       After that encounter I removed my Italian black and silver cross from around my neck, placed it in my jewelry box, and there it has rested for nearly two decades, never to be worn again. 
          And now when I see some of these politicians sporting flag pins on their lapels I assume they're doing so because wearing a flag pin works the same for them, 

...as wearing that cross could have worked for me if I'd wanted to use it to my advantage.  ​
      In truth, it doesn't matter to me one way or the other whether a politician wears a flag pin. But I believe we should all beware of assuming that what someone wears on the outside shows what they wear on their heart.​