Suburbs

The origin of this column was a defense of Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams regarding his decision not to follow the presidential order to lower flags for Dolly Parton.

And in some ways, Adams is right about his stance if the U.S. Flag Code is followed to the letter. The question is whether — in the spirit — or the “rules,” Parton met the criteria of having the flags at half-staff in memoriam.

Over time, such rules have become blurred, raising the question of who qualifies and whether the number of lowerings dilutes the intended recognition.

Let me get this out of the way right now: This in no way is designed to diminish the contributions of Parton, who died Aug. 25. I am not detracting from the entertainer’s impact on this world. She was a wonderful singer-songwriter who seemed to embrace everyone. In a time when people argue over just about everything, she was a unifying, kind person.

Well, except when the public is divided over a mayor deciding not to lower a flag.

Yes, I expect the criticism, blowback and condemnation aimed at me for questioning such a stance on an American icon, a loving person and an unwavering philanthropist. Probably even from within our newsroom.

I could write four, five, 50 paragraphs glorifying her work, and it still wouldn’t change whether I agree with Adams’ decision not to lower the flags in Olive Branch. The mayor tried to make his admiration for Parton clear in a Facebook post while explaining his reasoning for keeping the flag waving high.

Public criticism of the decision far outweighed Adams' accolades for Parton. The mayor also pointed out that Olive Branch is under home rule, which means he makes the decision in Olive Branch.

The U.S. Code on displaying a flag at half-staff says it is for high-ranking officials of the country, state and military heroes. “In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders …”, according to the Code.

Those specified in the Code as worthy include folks like the president, vice president, U.S. legislators and Supreme Court justices, plus plenty of others. Mass killings and national tragedies such as 9/11 have earned the recognition, and rightfully so.

The question becomes whether a private citizen — like Parton — deserves the memorial compared to a military hero, a U.S. leader or a horrible mass death.

The president can lower a flag for federal properties, and the public and cities “then follow suit voluntarily,” according to the National Flag Foundation, which has been around for about 50 years to respect and honor the flag.

By most counts, including a recent Business Insider article, about nine people over the years have fallen into the “private citizen” category. And it didn’t start with President Donald Trump. Previous presidents also extended the honor.

Flags were lowered by President Lyndon Johnson for slain Civil Rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. President George W. Bush followed the Civil Rights trend by recognizing Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. Bush the Younger appears to be the first to enter the entertainment category when he noted the death of comedian Bob Hope in 2003.

President Barack Obama ordered flags lowered for astronaut Neil Armstrong and Dorothy Height, a civil rights and women’s rights advocate.

Before Parton, Trump had honored the deaths of the Rev. Billy Graham and Charlie Kirk.

The Kirk situation — the most recent a year ago before Parton — seems to be the question to Adams. Did he lower it for Kirk, a conservative activist, but declined to do it for Parton?

We asked Adams via email, but the Olive Branch mayor won’t talk to our reporters or me. So we don’t really know whether he ordered the recognition for Kirk.

But it really does beg the question — if the flags were lowered for Charlie Kirk in Olive Branch, why did Dolly Parton not meet the mayor’s standards? Did the mayor consider Kirk more worthy of the recognition than Parton?

If he struggled with that, maybe Adams is really wrestling today over whether he should lower the flags in Olive Branch for Gloria Steinem.

— Clay Bailey, suburbs editor

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