"Capturing the Flag: the Symbols That Unite"
On the cusp of our nation's 230th anniversary of Independence this wonderful online community has penned numerous homages and challenges, cautions and admonitions, proclaiming the unfinished business of Libery on monitors world-wide. The seed of my own offering came a month before the 2004 elections. I sent an email to my friends suggesting that we all fly the flag on Election Day to declare voting to be a supremely patriotic act. I got one reply that basically said 'Hell, no. I don't want everyone to think that I'm supporting Bush!'
We know that frame, don't we? Patriotism had become the province of Little King George's empire. Support Our Troops! Support the President!
Although the integrity of that little (but dangerous) man has been tarnished, there are still too many of our Red countrymen who doubt the patriotism of Democrats and allied progressives. Unfortunately, I think we need to accept some responsibility for the way we are viewed by many of themn. How many American flags have you seen at the rallies and vigils opposing George's Folly? We fly splinter flags - the green and white ecology flag, the Whole Earth flag, the Rainbow Coalition flag, and other commentary flags, stained with bloody handprints, or the stars replaced with corporate logos. But damned few Stars and Stripes are flown by the Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, and What-Have-You's.
One of the problems with us "Lefties," IMO, is that beyond a core value advocating universal tolerance, what we mostly want is to be left alone to manage our own fates. Unfortunately, that is not what our opponents want. They want control, and the most powerful tools of social control are the symbols, rituals, and stylized means of indoctrination, most of which, in our 'live and let live, and leave me alone' lifestyles we have largely abandoned.
Here and in other on-line theaters we have endlessly debated 'What do we stand for? What are our principles? What are our frames, our messages, our sound bites?' and we are all over the map or cobbling together ponderous intellectual slogans or blasting each other with the circular firing squads of ideological purity. The Neo-Cons, Religious Right, Corporate Aristocracy and American Taliban can answer these questions quickly and easily with an extraordinary degree of congruence, and in commonly understood clichés that slide right into hymns or Country and Western melodies.
On our side there is cacophony. Issues are placed before principals. Process takes precedence to values. How we approach an issue too often depends on what our definition of is is. What the hell do these debates mean to red-dirt farmers or inner-city residents trying to keep food on the table or get grandma her blood pressure medication?
But we can all respond to the Flag flying over Iwo Jima or the rubble of the WTC with a swelling of ancient emotion.
The Bushistas and their ilk have captured that largely because, ... well, frankly, it seems as if we "Blame America First-ers" are so knowledgeable about the reality behind the myth and so sophisticated that we disdain rote public rituals and are embarrassed to fly Old Glory from our porch, sew it on our sleeves, or stand tall and place our hands over our hearts and sing along. We don't want anyone to mistakenly believe we support the Imperial Presidency and its ruinous policies, and we have surrendered the flag.
Symbols bypass the thought process and speak to our emotional brain. Rituals reinforce the emotional response: the Pledge of Allegiance, the 4th of July, the bunting of car dealers, politicians and hucksters, the childhood myths and sanitized history, "Truth, Justice, and the American Way," with multiple and endless media repetitions. Because we see through the bullshit, too many of us have abandoned the Dream, and in doing so have become divorced from our National identity, and "One World" is just too abstract a concept for most people. We have seen this again with the encrouching Amendment to Prevent Hurt Feelings over Flag Desecration, or in the resentment of them damn Latino ferriners marching for American rights while flying their conuntry's flags.
Friends, we need our myths and we need our dreams. It's not sophisticated or Vulcan logic, but I have come to believe that they are needs so deep that they can only be biological, and to flourish we must accomodate them. They help us recognize each other in the concrete jungle and along the rural highways, communicate with each other, work together.
How then do we re-capture those symbols and rituals that we have abandoned and in so many ways seem to disdain?
We don't.
Neither do we create something artificial, ex nihil, for that would ring hollow and duplicitous. I would like to suggest that we return to the roots of our nation for the principals and symbols only 230 years young, and use them to make simple demonstrations in our everyday lives that declare, "We are Patriots, and this is our Country, and you will not disenfranchise or marginalize us!" And we will recognize each other, though we may not know each other's names and private dreams.
Yes, let us fly the flag, proudly and defiantly, but let us embrace our heritage: here are our roots! Raise her at sunrise, lower her at sunset, parade with her proudly and proclaim "I Am A Patriot!" Wear her on your jacket, your hat, or your vest, and let them smile at your quaint sentiment: "I Am An American!" Defy any challengers!
When we rally let us join our voices in a simple pledge, an inclusive declaration: "I Pledge Allegiance to Liberty and Justice for ALL!" That is quite enough said! Demonstrate our hope for the nation; bring a washtub, soap and water and follow Norman Thomas' advice: "If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag; WASH it!" Don't wait for opinions to change, let alone political resolutions: download the lyrics of the People's Anthem. Learn them. Teach your children. Lift your voices and sing it together.
And every Independence Day before the parades, the hotdogs, and the fireworks, let us "ooh!" and "aah!" to recitations of that magnificent statement that has no legal standing, but is the Heart of Our Beloved Republic.
Read it
Discuss it
Promote it.
Yes, we may feel silly, and no, this won't raise money for your favorite candidate or keep our Congresscritters from voting for another round of legalized theft. It won't provide universal healthcare, save old growth forests, or provide a paper trail for the electoral process.
Not today. But the glaciers that built up over long centuries can melt in short decades. We know that for a fact.
We need a better anodyne for our frustration and despair than simply stoking our anger. We need hope that is not attached to any particular candidate. We need to be able to recognize each other so that we can join our strengths and blunt our weakness. We need to be recognized by our opponents, the frightened and bitter, the prejudiced and the greedy. They need to know clearly: We are your neighbors and we are your countrymen. But Don't tread on me.
We need not recapture the Glory, but when Liberty's children awaken, we need to Remember the Dream.