Statues are center stage in the culture wars these days, but flags are also getting a bigger share of the spotlight.
President Trump, reigniting the old culture-war battles of the 1990s, promised a year in jail for anyone caught burning the American flag. Trump was responding to the violence and destruction of protesters around the country. When Portland, Oregon, protesters tore down a George Washington statue, tagging it with “1619” and “genocidal colonist,” they also wrapped the head with an American flag that they lit on fire.
Throughout June, images of the stars and stripes aflame poured in from around the country. Protesters burned flags to express disappointment in the United States or fundamental objection to the nation as a whole.
But it’s more complicated than that. The U.S. Flag Code (which carries no penalties for disobedience) actually endorses burning flags that have reached the end of their service life. It violates flag code to fly a ragged, torn, or overworn flag. You’re also not supposed to just toss one in the trash. That’s why this year, on June 14 — Flag Day, of course — you could find American Legion members around the country burning flags. They were burning them not out of protest, but out of love.
The ubiquity of face masks has also provided an opportunity for red, white, and blue patriotism. Check Etsy, Amazon, Zazzle, or TheFlagShirt.com, and you’ll find plenty of patriotic face coverings. It’s a bit ironic to market a muzzle honoring a country founded on the freedom of speech, but such are the times.
Other flags made headlines as well. NASCAR banned the Confederate flag, a decision that sparked minor blowback but also led to a major kerfuffle when a crew member for African American driver Bubba Wallace apparently mistook a pull rope for a noose.
Meanwhile, Mississippi is under pressure to change its flag, which includes the old stars and bars from the Confederate battle flag. The NCAA announced in June that it would not host championships in Mississippi as long as the Confederate battle flag is prominent in the state flag.
All of this went on in June, when businesses were showing their devotion to contemporary morality by flying six-colored rainbow-ish flags for gay pride.
And it was a year ago when Nike felt the need to remove the Betsy Ross flag from a pair of shoes after activists said the flag represented slavery.
You can bet that this Independence Day, flags of all shapes, colors, sizes, and states of combustion will be on display across the land of the free and the home of the brave.
