The U.S. Flag Belongs to All of Us, Embodying the Unfulfilled Promise of America

Too often right-wing adherents position themselves as the only true patriots. Remember Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin talking about “real” Americans in 2008? How long can Donald Trump talk before referring to his critics as anti-American, enemies of the people, and worse? Flag Day on June 14 likewise gets co-opted by jingoistic, chest-thumping individuals who declare that their form of patriotism is the only acceptable kind.

Well, I beg to differ. It’s our flag, too.

“I love America more than any other country in the world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”–James A. Baldwin, poet

Yes, this is my country
Retching and turning
Like a baby learning
How to live…
Soldier Blue, Soldier Blue,
Can’t you see that there’s another way to love her?

When the news stories get me down
I take a drink of freedom to think of
North America from toe to crown
It’s never long before
I know just why I belong here

Soldier Blue, Soldier Blue,
Can’t you see that there’s another way to love her?—Buffy Sainte-Marie, singer/songwriter

During the 1913 silk workers’ strike in Paterson, NJ, management and the city sought to portray the strikers as un-American, so they declared Flag Day and ordered American flags to be hung from the all the buildings. The workers took to the streets, armed with American flags and a banner:

WE WEAVE THE FLAG
WE LIVE UNDER THE FLAG
WE DIE UNDER THE FLAG
BUT NOT IF WE’LL STARVE UNDER THE FLAG

It’s our flag, too, and PDA fights every day of every year to make the promise of America’s flag come true with liberty and justice for all.

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