What Does the American Flag Mean to You?

A Saturday Prompt

(Photo by Studio One-One via Getty Images)

Today, June 14, is a day for mass protest all across our land under the heading of “No Kings.” As the organizers describe it online, “They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings…we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism.”

While millions and millions of Americans will express that sentiment in the streets of America, a malignant narcissist who despises our democracy will be holding a military parade in Washington, D.C.—to glorify himself (it’s his birthday) and try to hide his weakness with tanks and troops and spectacle. He will pretend that he’s celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, even though he’s frequently communicated how little he thinks of our soldiers and the sacrifices they make (including calling them “suckers” and “losers” and cutting veterans’ funding).

It is a remarkable split screen. I’m counting on peaceful Americans to vividly demonstrate they find their strength, their voice and their values in solidarity with others who oppose this hostile regime.

But this day is also notable as Flag Day. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution that stated “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white,” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Over a century later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson decreed that June 14 will be officially celebrated as Flag Day.

The American flag has had a varied history. It was raised by U.S. Marines on the island of Iwo Jima in 1945, planted on the surface of the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969, set on fire by opponents of the Vietnam War (leading to the passage of the Flag Protection Act in 1968), driven in the back of pick-up trucks by Trump cultists as an arrogant show of their dominant patriotism—and frequently turned upside down in recent months as an expression of distress.

But in this moment, when we ask ourselves about what liberty, freedom, democracy and the ideals of America really mean, each of us has the opportunity to freshly embrace the flag and its symbolism. I suspect many Americans will bring flags to today’s “No Kings” protest to reclaim the meaning of patriotism.

So what do you think? What does the American flag mean to you? Can you fully embrace it? Or has our complicated history created complicated feelings? Perhaps you have a story of how the flag was raised from your own experience. (In my case, I graduated high school with more than a thousand students, and while most wore red or white to help display the flag, I was proudly among the small group that wore a blue robe to make the blue background for the flag’s white stars.)

As always, I look forward to reading your comments and the opportunity for our community to hear from each other. Please do be respectful. Trolling will not be tolerated.

See you on Substack Live later today during the protests. Please do share photos from your town’s protests on Substack Notes and tag me. I’ll welcome the chance to share some of them on America, America later.

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