A Point of View: Does the American Flag Feel the Same?

I want to start out by saying this: I love our country. We have a lot of history here. Part of honoring a nation’s history is identifying a symbol that speaks to the story of its people. Most nations do this with a flag. A flag is a way for us to let the rest of the world know what and who we care about.

There are a lot of flags with symbols of comfort. The rainbow flag is a symbol of acceptance and love. The Red Cross flag is a symbol of safety. The pan-African flag symbolizes a diasporic connection that cannot be broken, even if history tried to do so. The Native nation flags are a symbol of strength that reminds us that this land was not given — it was fought over for centuries, and its people are still here fighting for it.

There are also other flags that symbolize hate, ignorance, intimidation. The Confederate flag has always been a symbol of hatred and spite to everyone who does not support the pain of the African American holocaust. We all know it. I will not pretend that this is not how our nation’s African Americans were treated. The Nazi flag is a disgusting reversal of a symbol that meant peace. Instead, like the Confederate flag, it is also a symbol of hatred and defiance. 

When I drive anywhere around the country, I know what those flags mean. They mean that me and those like me are not welcome. When I see a Confederate flag, I imagine a bigot, shouting at me to “go back to my country.” (Which is funny to me as they are also squatting on someone else’s land.) I don’t want to interact with someone who wants to “school” me on the “Southern Pride” of the Confederate flag. They lost. Why can’t they just get over it? (That is what African Americans are told upon bringing up the institution of slavery.) 

Now, to the purpose of writing about flags.

I remember the pride and camaraderie our nation felt after the attacks on the twin towers. There were American flags everywhere, and it felt good. Something has happened in the past five years that has changed how I impulsively feel now when I see an American flag displayed outside of an official government context. When I see an American Flag flying off the back of a truck or flying in a field, I don’t feel welcome, and I don’t like it. I feel angry that the American flag is being used this way. I don’t like that this symbol is being superficially co-opted to make others feel like an outsider. I don’t like that the American flag more recently feels like a symbol of defiance or a statement almost the same way the Confederate flag feels. I don’t like that I have to take a moment to remind myself that this is my flag too. My friends and I have talked about this new phenomenon for us. How could our symbol of the United States’ 50 states have been co-opted so quickly? How quickly can we take it back?

I am tired of feeling conflicted and singled out, and tired of the defiance of symbolic meaning. Our flag, our national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Statue of Liberty all have a different feeling for me now, even though I love my country. Perhaps it is that I have now grown up. Perhaps it is that I spent time learning more about the history of this land. Perhaps it’s that I have decided that it’s more responsible to ask questions rather than take heroic stories as fact. There are always two sides to a story.

Our flag belongs to all of us. It belongs to the original nations of this land who fought for centuries, and continue to resist today. It belongs to the families that came here through Ellis Island. It belongs to the families that were kidnapped, tortured, and humiliated for over 400 years. It belongs to the families who struggled to build a new life for their family. It belongs to the countless others who fought for this nation.

In much the same way we have taken words back and stripped them of their negative power, it is time to do this with our flag. Our flag belongs to all of us, as imperfect as we all are. This is what makes the history of this nation unique. I love my country, and I will not accept the attempts at superficially co-opting our flag.