“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats!”

– H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), American journalist and essayist.

America has become a flag-waving nation; everywhere you turn, people are expressing themselves through flags. Breaking along lines of social diversity and political disagreement, flags are waved for the solidarity of a group, to build recognition for a cause. Though differences and disagreements may divide us, we should be united in raising one flag above all others, the American flag.

As symbols, flags develop the power to communicate through frequency of use and association with events. The American flag has a heritage that began with the birth of the nation. Carried in battle, it became known as the Star-Spangled Banner in the War of 1812 and Old Glory during the Civil War. With its colors of red, white, blue, and pattern of stars, and stripes, it is a symbol that even groups with opposing views try to capture to represent their cause.

Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the nation of 34 states was divided by slavery, with 19 in the north being free states and 15 in the south being slave states. Known as “exclusionary” flags, abolitionists waved an American flag of 19 stars with seven stripes representing the free states in the original 13 colonies. Secessionists waved a flag with 15 stars and 11 stripes representing the states of the Confederacy. Flags of today are modified with thin lines of color and black shading.

Throughout the nation’s history, the American flag has been associated the struggle to find the truth promised to be self-evident in the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.” A commitment written with intent to free a colony from a monarchy, but soon thereafter interpreted as the right of an individual to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. An ideal people are willing to die to defend, a hope that people are willing to trek through a desert to achieve.

Too often, rage defines the American flag. On April 5, 1976 at a rally to protest Boston’s school desegregation plan, photojournalist Stanley Foreman took the Pulitzer Prize winning photo, “Old Glory Soiled.” It was a picture of a white man, Joseph Rakes, using the staff of the American flag he was waving to stab Ted Landsmark, a Black man. Landsmark, a lawyer, was not a part of the protest. He used his brief moment of notoriety to speak out against those who encouraged violence.

Frustration and resentment are reflected in the bumper sticker that reads, “Respect My Flag or Pack Your Bags,” a rallying cry for the bitter for well over 200 years. In the 1830s, the American Colonizing Movement’s objective was to “send them back.” The State Convention of the Colored Citizens of New York issued this statement in reply, “This is our home, and this is our country. Beneath its sod lie the bones of our fathers. Here we were born, here will die.”

Unfortunately, with the politics of the day, waving a white flag of concession is rare, the black flag of give no ground all too frequently. Waving the red, white, and blue of the American Flag should be done not to give or take, nor to be for or against but with a sense of gratitude.

“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.” ­– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American philosopher, essayist.

Tom Brindley grew up in Iowa, and studied journalism and accounting. He is a retired controller from Alpena Community College and has been active in local nonprofit organizations. He can be reached at bindletom@hotmail.com.