Americans vs. Americanism

by Tony Chavira

There was once a town in Northeastern Wisconsin called Crivitz, where an Iraq War veteran named Vito Congine Jr. decided to use some of his savings to open an Italian supper club.  After finding a quaint shop and taking his time to remodel it, he found that he had spent over $200,000 to make sure that it met the grade.  The restaurant of his dreams, he thought to himself congenially as he dreamt of serving calzones to his friends and neighbors.

Now time had begun to pass and the last element for the completion of his restaurant was still missing: a liquor license, as wine is naturally a key component of Italian dining.  Days began to pass, and then weeks as Vito began to notice that he was losing money slowly, creeping worryingly toward bankruptcy.

In a desperate attempt to bring attention to his plight, he hung an American flag upside down outside of his restaurant on the Fourth of July: a symbol of distress from one soldier to another on the battlefield.  The American Dream was failing Vito, slowly pulling his aspirations downward with him into the nadir of economic disparity.

The upturned flag wasn’t waving longer than a day before a righteous group of nationalist on-lookers caught sight of the display and ignited with patriotic passion.  Unfortunately, they weren’t passionate about saving the American dream so much as it’s overturned symbol…

"The police chief estimated that there were in excess of 4,000 people in the downtown area along the seven-block parade route. The flag was returned to the property owner the following day."

Neighbor Steven Klein — who said he served 18 years in three U.S. military branches — watched authorities remove the flag in disbelief and said he was threatened with arrest.

"There was no safety hazard to it," he said. "I think they more were afraid of people asking questions. If people came to the store, I would have gladly told them" about the liquor license.

And in an amalgamated flurry of nationalist pride and jingoistic rage…

A U.S. flag flown upside down as a protest in this Northeastern Wisconsin village was seized by police before a Fourth of July parade, and the businessman who flew it — an Iraq war veteran — claims the officers trespassed and stole his property.

A day after the parade, police returned the flag, and the man's protest — over a liquor license — continued.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is considering legal action against the village of Crivitz for violating the First Amendment rights of Vito Congine Jr., said executive director Chris Ahmuty.

"It is not often that you see something this blatant," Ahmuty said. "The fact that police on Independence Day of all days would come onto private property without permission and shut down his protest is very disturbing."

Now it is absolutely understandable that a patriotic community take offense to the desecration of their national symbol.  The flag represents all of America, the good, the bad and the otherwise.  However, is it not possible that today the flag represents economic disparity, rampant debt and (in this case) the possible hindrance of Vito Congine’s American dream by the local American government?  Worse yet, his only ability to protest the ultimate paradox of living in a land where he is both considered legally free yet was unable to attain a liquor license legally, the freedom of speech, was inhibited by the very government put in place to protect that freedoms!  A freedom he fought and potentially may have died for.

Today I feel that Mr. Vito Congine’s restaurant is one of the most amazing pieces of found art in the world.  By simply placing a flag upside down with the intention of seeking assistance, he incurred the wrath of a community, he fell victim to the abuse of local law enforcement, and he evoked strong nationalistic emotions from both sides of the political spectrum.  All while trying to simply draw attention to the fact that he was going bankrupt.  The American Dream was failing him, and had he not overturned the American flag he would have certainly slipped silently into inconsolable obscurity.  Just another poor person in America, among the many millions.

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