It’s time to take the American flag back from the fringe
Go buy an American flag right now and put it up in front of your house. It’s time to take America back from the crazies.
Listen: I’ve been at this gig for a long time now, and depending on how the winds are blowing, much of the time I’m being accused of being a shill for the right. Or the left. Again, depends on which way the winds are blowing.
The coronavirus is honestly a good Patient Zero look at this: In the beginning, and through much of the middle stages of the pandemic, I advocated for shutdowns, masks, social distancing, the whole thing. And I was accused of shilling for the left. In recent months, with the advent of the vaccine, I’ve been advocating for opening things up and ditching mask mandates. The result? People on the right are retweeting me.
Truth is, I’m neither right nor left. On some stuff I’m this way, on other stuff I’m that way. I can’t be pinned down because I’m all over the map.
One thing, however, that I am, that I’ve never wavered from, that I’ll defend forever is (cue the fighter jets) … American.
Yep. I’m American, first, last, and always. I’m not Jewish, not Christian, not Buddhist. Not German-American, not RussianAmerican, not Italian-American. I consider myself an American, period, end of story.
And somehow, this is now a right-leaning stance. Ridiculous.
Yes, I fly the flag. Right outside my front door. I’ve had a flag out there since I bought the house a million years ago. Only time I didn’t have a flag there was when the flag holder thingee broke and I was lazy replacing it. But yes. There she is, blowing in the wind. Old Glory. The flag.
Now get this: YouGov recently released a state of the flag survey, and the results sicken me. For starters, there’s this question: “Which, if any, of these following terms would you use to describe people who display an American flag on their home or vehicle?” This question was broken down by self-described Republicans and Democrats, and the answers told a story, with 77% of Republicans saying “patriotic” compared to only 54% of Democrats. Some 49% of Republicans would classify people who flew the flag as “normal,” compared to only 32% of Democrats. On the flip side? Only 2% of Republicans would call flag-flyers “obnoxious,” compared to 15% of Democrats. Another 11% of Democrats would consider flag-displayers “racist” and 8% said they’d think they were “ignorant.”
And get this: Only 34% of Democrats associate the flag as something that is aligned more with their party, whereas 66% of Republicans see it that way.
Predictably, this also breaks along racial lines, with white people a lot more happy with the flag than any minority.
And so to all of this I say, for a second time … go buy an American flag right now and put it up in front of your house. It’s time to take America back from the crazies.
Why should we let the far-right lay claim to the flag? It’s not their flag; it’s our flag.
Listen: The flag doesn’t just symbolize the 13 colonies and 50 states; the colors mean something as well. Red is for hardiness and valor, white purity and innocence, and blue stands for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
Why would Democrats want to punt the flag to the Republicans? Especially in the Age of Trump, where the far-right Trumpers are convinced they are the only true Americans?
I say enough. I say it’s time to reclaim the flag for reasonable Americans, no matter their race, color, creed, or, perhaps most importantly, political affliation.
Go buy a flag, and fly it with pride.