I don’t own a Gadsden flag. The only confederate flag I’ve owned was in the early 1980’s and it was the sticker on my Dukes of Hazzard big wheel.
As a white person who has lived his entire existence in the south (and I have the accent to prove it) I don’t care for the confederate flag. I have no loyalty or allegiance to it and I fully understand why it makes many people of color uneasy. My personal observations have been that I’ve never seen a confederate flag flying over a home I’d want to live in or a vehicle I’d willingly drive.
I’m talking about flags because on Saturday, the eve of the 4th of July, the New York Times ran a piece on how the United States flag doesn’t unite people like it once did. Apparently there are leftists who feel uneasy because they saw a white male driving a large truck that (gasp) had the American flag on it.
I understand why some people recoil at the confederate flag, but I’m unable to relate with folks who hate the American flag. I just don’t get it. That flag represents a country that thousands of people risk their lives to get into every week. The Stars and Stripes represents a country that other countries look to first for help if an event or act of nature deal them a blow.
In 2001, when victims were carried out of the rubble of the World Trade Center, they were done so wrapped in that flag.
For decades, that flag was the only flag on the moon until the Chinese planted theirs on the lunar surface last year.
The people who say that the Old Glory scares them will also look you dead in the eye and tell you “America was never great.” These folks are a very small minority in the big picture, but luckily for them their voices are amplified by journalists and outlets that share their disdain for American greatness.
A lot of it is rooted in the bitter political divide gripping the country as noted by @shivenspatel.
The white guy with the big truck and flag may very well be someone you would like to have as a neighbor. Someone that you may disagree with politically, but would collect your mail for you while you’re out of town, let you borrow his lawn mower or bring you a homemade lasagna if he heard someone close to you had passed away. Someone who would stand with you, shoulder to shoulder, and risk their live to protect this great country.
All this reminds me of a liberal writer in California who once wrote an LA Times Op-Ed over her perverse inner conflict. You see, according to the author, after a snow storm, her neighbor had come over, unsolicited, and shoveled her driveway.
It was a very kind gesture that she appreciated... but... this neighbor was a Trump supporter (Double Gasp!).
She was being forced to deal with the fact that the guy down the street who voted differently than she did just may not be the nazi monster she thought he was, and it was happening right there for all to see.
America 2021 has her problems, but many of her poor are considered well off by current international standards. Kids in America have higher quality of living than a lot of royals did in the past. No other country currently offers people of color a better opportunity to chase their dreams. A beautiful thing about America is that it doesn’t prevent its citizens from moving to other countries.
If you live in America in 2021 and the American flag intimidates you, maybe before you point the finger, consider pointing the thumb first. Maybe the person wearing the American flag hat isn’t the problem, maybe it’s you and the media you consume that makes you think this way.
If you’re not willing to give your fellow flag-waiving-American the benefit of the doubt, maybe it’s time you consider adopting another flag and another country all together.
I hear China is all the rage for leftists these days. Maybe move there, I’m sure they’ll be more willing to hear your complaints for redress.
To the rest of you, fly that flag and fly it proud. If not you, who will?
Happy Independence Day.