“And where the Body of the People, or any single Man, is deprived of their Right, or is under the Exercise of a power without right, and have no Appeal on Earth, there they have a liberty to appeal to Heaven, whenever they judge the Cause of sufficient moment.” —John Locke

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” —John Adams

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” —George Washington

“Nevertheless, to the persecution and tyranny of his cruel ministry we will not tamely submit — appealing to Heaven for the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free.” —Joseph Warren

Symbols have meaning. The “An Appeal to Heaven” or “Pine Tree” flag’s meaning stems from the Revolutionary War. Commissioned by George Washington and designed by Colonel Joseph Reed, this simple flag emblazoned with the resilient evergreen was adopted as a naval flag in 1775. Its meaning was clear: Only God would save the nascent American colonies from the tyrannical whims of King George III.

Almost 250 years later, its meaning hasn’t changed. Only God can preserve the American people from tyrants. That’s why this noble and historic flag has flown over government buildings nationwide, even in deep-blue places like San Francisco. At least that was true until leftists used the flying of that flag at Samuel Alito’s vacation home as a political tool to intimidate the Supreme Court justice.

Leftist hacks (a.k.a. The New York Times) decided to spin the narrative that since the flag was flown by rioters on January 6, it’s a symbol of insurrection and the “Stop the Steal” movement. It’s an ignorant and cynical attack. As Justice Alito rightly quipped, “The use of an old historic flag by a new group does not necessarily drain that flag of all other meanings.”

That did not stop San Francisco bureaucrats from removing the flag from city hall this past weekend. The flag had proudly flown there for 60 years and represents an important moment in our nation’s history. Its removal is a cowardly act.

As The Federalist points out, this is a two-pronged attack: one against a conservative Supreme Court justice, and the other against our American heritage. I would even argue that it’s a three-pronged attack, the third being an attack on Christianity and its role in the shaping of our country.

Americans should not allow anti-American leftist radicals to take any more of our country’s symbols and pervert them for their own political pursuit of power. They have torn down statues representing historical figures and Founding Fathers. They have defaced other statues in the name of anti-American causes (see the pro-Hamas protests). Let this be the line in the sand. Perhaps, as The Washington Stand suggests, the right response to this latest attack is for all of us to fly the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag along with Old Glory.

Leftists happily and gleefully tear down American history in an attempt to paint the country as the worst. And in the smolders they construct their new secular religion of anti-America and anti-Judeo/Christian values. But make no mistake: When practiced, the Left’s utopian socialistic pipe dreams quickly go up in smoke.