Flags have been flying on highway overpasses for nearly two decades, following the terrorist attacks of September 11th.
Now suddenly, inexplicably, New Jersey has ordered them down just 3 days before the 19th anniversary of that tragic day.
From Fox News:
Local officials in New Jersey are criticizing the state’s turnpike authority for allegedly taking down American flags that were hung along overpasses in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11 to honor veterans and those who died defending the country, according to authorities and reports.
Michael Slininger, president of the police union representing Robbinsville Township, near Trenton, said the group had just paid to replace the more than 12 flags that had been either “missing or tattered” from the overpasses along the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 195 – which they had done “to continue the tradition of honoring our veterans and those lost in service for our country.”
“American flags have been flown on overpasses throughout the state and throughout the nation since 9/11,” Slininger wrote Monday on a post to the Robbinsville Township Police Benevolent Association’s Facebook page. “Now, as we approach the anniversary of that horrific day, we are extremely disappointed to announce that the NJ Turnpike Authority saw fit to remove all flags on overpasses covering the N.J.T.P. last week, replacing them with signs citing … a code which is meant to apply to advertisement material or improper road signage.”
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority told News 12 New Jersey it’s had a “longstanding policy” that prohibited “the display of any flags, signs or banners by private parties on Turnpike Authority property.”
Here is a statement from The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, reported by MidJersey.News:
Statement by the NJ Turnpike Authority on the flags:
Turnpike Authority Statement on Posting of Flags, Posters, and Signs on Turnpike and Parkway Bridges:
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority appreciates and applauds patriotism. We try to express patriotism ourselves every day by maintaining dozens of American flags at properties in our right of way — office buildings, toll plazas, service areas, maintenance facilities, State Police buildings, warehouses. Those flags are treated with the utmost respect by Turnpike Authority personnel. They are flown on suitable staffs. They are illuminated at night. They are lowered to half-staff when the state is in mourning. They are removed, properly destroyed, and promptly replaced when they become faded or worn and are no longer suitable symbols of our national ideals.
The long-standing policy of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has been to prohibit the display of any flags, signs, or banners by private parties on Turnpike Authority property. While we appreciate the desire of some New Jersey residents to express their patriotism in these turbulent times by displaying flags on Turnpike and Parkway overpasses, Turnpike Authority regulations do not allow it, and for good reason. The Turnpike and Parkway run through more than 100 municipalities and include more than 1,100 bridges and other structures. The NJTA cannot adequately monitor flags mounted by private citizens to make sure they are safely and securely hung, properly displayed, and respectfully maintained. While we hope that everyone who wants to display the American flag finds a suitable location to do so, we believe that limiting the flags displayed on Turnpike Authority property to ones hung and maintained by Turnpike Authority staff is the best way to assure that all flags in the Turnpike and Parkway right of way are treated with the respect they deserve."
So NJ wants us to believe that after nearly 20 years, this policy must be enforced at once?!
The only logical conclusion I can reach is that Patriotism is under attack.
Keep in mind, NJ and its Governor were in a protracted legal battle with local gym owners for months, simply because the gentleman wanted to open their business safely.
These Dem States want total control and are trying to demoralize any and every attempt to uphold American tradition.
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