This Friday, June 14th, is Flag Day–a day to commemorate the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States back in 1777. While Flag Day is a lesser known patriotic holiday compared to Independence Day, it provides an important opportunity to reflect on the meaning and symbolism of our nation's flag.
The American flag is far more than just a piece of cloth with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue field. It represents the ideals and values that our country was founded upon–liberty, democracy, justice, and opportunity for all. When we see Old Glory waving proudly, it fills us with a sense of pride, unity, and patriotism.
However, the flag can also be used to make powerful political statements. The upside down flag is actually an officially recognized signal of dire distress in instances of great danger or need. Recently, in response to former President Trump being found guilty of thirty-four felonies, his supporters have been displaying the upside down flag.
By inverting the flag, these protesters are using one of the most sacred American symbols to send a clear message–that they believe the current state of affairs in this country is a distress signal, that our most cherished democratic principles and civil liberties are under threat. While I am glad that they are resorting to a form of nonviolent protest, instead of, say, storming the capitol building like they did on January 6, 2021, Trump being found guilty on felony charges hardly equates to this country being in distress.
It is often said that you are known by the company that you keep. Currently, the following people associated with President Trump have been found guilty in a court of law: his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; his former campaign vice chairman, Rick Gates; his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen; his former adviser and former campaign aide, Roger Stone; his former adviser and former White House aide Peter Navarro; his former campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos; Trump Organization’s former CFO, Allen Weisselberg; his former White House national security advisor, Michael Flynn; and his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. Also, three lawyers associated with Trump’s post-defeat efforts, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis, have all pleaded guilty to election-related crimes. To date, Roughly 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the January 6, 2021 insurrection, while another roughly 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury. Mr. Trump himself was impeached twice by the U.S. House in bipartisan votes; he was found by the legal system to be a sexual abuser and a fraudulent business owner. Objectively speaking, displaying the upside down flag because Trump is now a convicted felon is bonkers. Having an unbiased legal system is a cornerstone of a thriving democratic republic.
I wonder how many of Trump’s supporters who are displaying the inverted flag actually served in the military. I’d be willing to bet the answer is zero, because military personnel put their minds, bodies, and souls on the line for the flag. Doing this for a political statement completely misses the point. It should not be used to exploit propaganda to create a false narrative, and it should not be a political statement for supporters of any political party.
As we celebrate Flag Day this week, let us remember that our flag does not just belong to those currently in power or those who agree with the policies of the government. It belongs to all of us–every citizen who loves this nation and wants to keep it true to its founding ideals. United we stand, and divided we fall. We have become one of the most politically polarized nations in the world and, as a result, we have become fertile ground for other countries to plant their seeds of false propaganda.
So fly your flag proudly and upright this Flag Day. May we never take for granted the blood, sweat, and tears that created and still sustain the freedoms our flag represents. May we seek to understand each other’s ideological differences and learn to communicate with each other as human beings. May we understand that all birds need both a left wing and a right wing to fly. May we stand as one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice to all.
Mike Stein
Chair, Coffee County Democratic Party
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