The Left, The Flag, & Patriotism

by John Hawkins | March 12, 2003 5:25 pm

The Left, The Flag, & Patriotism: You know, the flag is nothing but a symbol of America. The majority of people who display it on their cars or fly it over their homes, do so simply as a show of respect and admiration for this great nation in which we live. That’s not propaganda or political spin, that’s just how a lot of people in this country feel.

Furthermore, in and of themselves, your political party and views on the war have nothing to do whether you’re patriotic or not. For example, if you said, “Who’s more patriotic: a pro-war Republican or an anti-war Democrat?” My response would be, “There’s no way to know with just that information.”

That being said, why are there so many people on the left and in the anti-war movement who have their patriotism questioned? Could it be because well — there are many people on the left and in the anti-war movement who are not all that patriotic? For example, I mentioned the flag. I want to post just some of the responses from members of the Democratic Underground[1] when they were asked, “Will you still fly the flag?” (to be fair, there were more than a few people at the DU who didn’t agree with these sentiments)…

Rampant lion: Yes indeed, i’ll fly the flag of scotland, britain, the EU, canada, nederlands, germany, france…. but the american one is a shame… it symbolizes nothing except lies, bigotry, hatred and war. Perhaps when it means something positive, i might have one around.

thermodynamic: Upside down, with blood and oil stains on it. Maybe a letter “W” somewhere, but I don’t think that’s necessary. Fake blood, too – something that looks like blood. The real stuff dries to an icky brown color, not entirely distinguishable from oil…

Mari333: I have the French flag and the UN flag on my pole now… they represent me better then anyone could at this moment.

otohara: Don’t Have One, Won’t Buy One why, so I can be like my red-neck neighbors across the street. Who fly thier big flags, but regularly break the rules on water conservation.

ImanAtheist: no. this is NOT a country to be proud to be a part of.

latebloomer: I’ll continue to proudly fly my Earth Flag
I have never been an American flag waver. That flag has had too much blood on it from the very beginning. Those who think that it symbolizes freedom and justice should read “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn. We need to evolve as a species and get past this petty nationalism that is responsible for so much death and misery. someday, maybe it will be.

redeye: Yeah sure. Several of them. One, is the US flag, upside down (maybe I’ll burn or tear it a little, too). Two, is the flag of California. Three, is the flag of Cascadia. Four, is the flag of the EU, which is currently the world’s paradigm of internationalism. Five, is the peace flag, for pretty bovious reasons.

librarycard: The flag is not that important in other democratic countries Neither is the anthem, though both were obsessions in pre-WWII Germany, as was the Soviet flag ever present in occupied lands.
Why is the flag an obsession in the US?

starcade: Flame me if you must, but I am definitely considering burning it… The flag is no longer representative of the nation for which it once stood. A more proper American flag for our times would replace the 50 stars with corporate logos. Otherwise, fly it upside down. We are in international distress.

I hate to break it to the left, but if they’re stereotyped as being unpatriotic, it’s not because of some brilliant propaganda campaign dreamed up by Republican spin doctors, it’s because people have heard things like the above over and over again from the left and they’re still hearing it….

Endnotes:
  1. Democratic Underground: http://www.democraticunderground.com/duforum/DCForumID66/3699.html

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