Just when I think this country can’t be more absurdly hypocritical in its purported status as a bastion of freedom, I’m reminded of my fellow Americans’ uniquely ambitious nature in every area of common life. If it can be done, we do it with a Plus. Well, here is the latest example of Hypocrisy Plus in America: According to Autoblog, The City of Las Vegas is ordering a Hummer dealership to take down its American flag, because the flapping is annoying nearby residents.

A Las Vegas HUMMER dealer, Dan Towbin of Towbin HUMMER, has been ordered to take down a 30′ x 60′ American flag he’s flown 100 feet above his dealership for a year because his neighbors have complained about the sound of the flag flapping and the obtrusiveness of its looming pole.

While Towbin claims the the flag is an expression of his patriotism, the dealer’s neighbors and other concerned citizens in Las Vegas assert that his intentions are mostly commercial, accusing Towbin of exploiting veterans for his own financial gain. One point of controversy is a war memorial Towbin planned to build at the base of the pole. Towbin, who is an honorary commander at Nellis Air Force Base, said he has not built the memorial because the flag was only approved tentatively pending a six-month review. The six months came and went without the city following up on the matter.

Somebody should remind these folks that this is the town behind which nuclear bombs were detonated several times a year throughout the 50’s.

According to the 2007 Index of Economic Freedom from The Heritage Foundation, the United States ranks fourth behind Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. This year’s methodology was revised, which might account for America’s rise on the list (#9 in 2006 index), but still, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia aren’t often thought of (on this side of the Pacific Ocean) as bastions of Capitalism, and yet there they are– ahead of the United States.

Economic freedom, by itself, doesn’t paint a complete picture of any society, which is to say that such a ranking is just that, and little more. However, it should give us ( and hopefully policymakers, too) pause when considering the state of things in America.