…so long as they’re flags being waved by liberals. Apparently that’s a patriotic loophole we’ve not heard much of before. But to Larry Chad Northern, retired real estate dealer and former Republican candidate for local office, it was his patriotic duty to drive his pickup over a bed of crosses memorializing soldiers who died in Iraq, some of which were adorned with American flags.

Because, it seems, the respect for soldiers’ sacrifices and the love of the American flags must turn to disrespect and hatred if they in any way challenge the beloved leader-on-vacation in Crawford, Texas. Apparently the pain suffered by not just Cindy Sheehan but other parents of fallen soldiers in Iraq is a hateful thing if they dare wish to question the president as to the worthiness of the cause which cost them their children’s lives.

Northern, a Vietnam veteran himself, apparently believed that being the parent of a fallen soldier was not enough of a connection to memorialize their sacrifice anywhere near the president, and that the proper response was to desecrate the memorial, desecrate crosses for the dead, and desecrate the American flag, because criticizing George W. Bush is simply too much of a crime and had to be punished somehow.

Northern is not only a Republican (former contender for local office and presently a contributor), but also a churchgoer and Sunday school teacher. He was arrested when he was found repairing a flat tire his pickup truck acquired trashing the memorial. This was apparent from the white crosses that were stuck to the truck’s undercarriage.

This is patriotism? Is Sheehan’s protest so outrageous that such a man has to go to such lengths out of anger? Or was this guy simply driven too far by the relentless campaign by the right-wing media to smear Sheehan?

What should also be noticed in a media that is filled with anti-Sheehan venom, this story about Northern is very little-covered in the “liberal” media. How much do you want to bet that if the roles were reversed, the media would be buzzing with the story? Say a group of Republican mothers of fallen soldiers in a Democratic president’s conflict held prayer vigils which were interrupted by Democrats firing shotguns into the air, or a flag-decorated memorial to soldiers overrun by a liberal in a VW van? You think that would stay off the news headlines? Like hell.

So what happened to the outrage at the desecration of American flags? Why would a Sunday school teacher feel that there was any excuse whatsoever for desecrating crosses? Why is there not a peep of condemnation by anyone on the right for such desecrations, either in the media or the blogs? Surely these commentators would not be stopped for fear of criticizing one of their own; this act was so far over the line, they could safely criticize it while patting themselves on the back and claim major props for being “fair” enough to object to something done against Sheehan.

My own theory is that conservatives feel, on some level, that they own these icons; that if they are used in a way they feel is inappropriate, they are no longer valid. If they wave a flag, it is sacred; if a liberal waves a flag, it’s an affront. To many conservatives, what Larry Chad Northern did was at the very least understandable, and to some even commendable.

I checked the Free Republic site, where the conservatives gather ’round, and while there were some who said that it was unfortunate because it made the right-wing look bad, and even a rare one or two who noted that if the roles were reversed they wouldn’t be so happy, no one I could spot objected to the desecration of flags or crosses. A great many approved of Northern’s actions, and almost all at least excused him. Among the comments:

• “That stuff [the flags and crosses] was litter.”
• “It had me cheering.”
• “Anyone collecting for his legal fees? I’d contribute.”
• “I’d gladly pay his fine.”
• “LOL. Me too.”
• “I like Larry. I bet he feels better now. I hope the local sheriff fines him $5 and then takes him out for a beer.”
• “God bless him for his service. :)”
• “Those names were being desecrated and Larry Northern had the kajones to do something about it.”
• “Public service in removing trash is all I see. Guess he just didn’t get a chance to go back and pick it up.”

At latest, they were all on the conspiracy that the flags were planted after the fact as a way to generate publicity (“proven” by photos carefully selected out of context), but wire photos taken as much as four days earlier clearly showed many flags along with the crosses. Of course, we are talking about Freepers here. Nevertheless, a principle is supposed to be a principle; if something is wrong, it’s still wrong when your guy does it. But that does not seem to hold within conservative circles, where morality and principles are contextual things, props of the moment, to be ignored when inconvenient.