Even before an article appeared in the New York Times on Independence Day about our flag (‘A Fourth of July Symbol of Unity That May No Longer Unite’), I was thinking about it. In one of my occasional walks around Greenfield, I saw a pickup with a Trump sticker on the bumper flying the American flag from the back of the bed and thought to myself, “Do conservatives have a monopoly on this flag?”
“Self,” I said, “I need a flag.” And $37 later at Home Depot, I had one, which I’ve tried to display daily, on my porch, while observing all the rules of flag care — following my Eagle Scout son-in-law’s directions. I am not quite sure how I’d describe my politics but I am certainly not a Trumpist or conservative. So, why fly the flag? What does it mean?
Not sure what it means to the pickup driver, but, for me, showing the flag means that I embrace (remember the pledge from school?) the principles of the United States republic’s form of government. Are we a perfect country? Certainly not. Have we lived up to our ideals? In some ways yes and in others we have failed miserably. But I’d like to think that we are, as the Buddha suggests, “striving.”
Do you support these principles? Yes, our government is imperfect. Yes, many people, in this country and elsewhere have fallen victim to horrific policies this country has put forward and others have benefited greatly. But what do you want?
Do you want to help us grow by getting involved and changing our current republic for the better? Are you a conservative? A liberal? A Trumpist? A socialist? A QAnon adherent? But, in the end, do you, at least, support the principles of our republic? If so, fly your flag. It’s not the pickup driver’s flag — it’s not my flag — it’s everyone’s flag.
Democracies only last as long as they last — and this one’s had a pretty good run. Will this one survive the apathy, passivity or even hostility that seems to be afoot? Maybe you think it’s time for a change from this form of republic. Be careful what you wish for. Our next government may not be quite so principled.
My bride and I found ourselves in Beijing in 1989. As the Peoples’ Liberation Army had moved into the city to rid Tiananmen Square of the unarmed demonstrating students, we were getting calls in the middle of the night from family in the U.S. saying “Why are you still there?” So, having slept on the floor at least one night to avoid bullets coming through the window (never happened to us, but we did visit another apartment with holes in the ceiling), we took a “vacation” to Africa as our daughter was just finishing up a Peace Corps gig. Nice trip.
When we returned and went about our routine of going to the street vendors across the large Soviet-style boulevard intersection (where thousands of demonstrators had gathered just a few weeks before), it was a peaceful, hot Beijing summer afternoon.
And there, in the lovely tree-lined median of the avenue, was a very nice looking young man, dressed in a perfectly starched green uniform, standing on a small platform — holding a machine gun. Get it?
Henry Leuchtman is a Greenfield resident.