How can we look at the Flag the same?

No one should be forcing anyone to stand for the National Anthem or “respect the flag”.

Not right now. Not when our country failed, again.

For context, earlier this week, the NBA forced the Dallas Mavericks to play the National Anthem before every game. The Mavs’ owner, Mark Cuban, had quietly pulled the Anthem from the beginning of home games because he had conversations with those in his organization who did not feel it truly represented them. And it led to the NBA reiterating its policy on Wednesday that every team play the National Anthem before every home game. While the anger is not as high, it is still reminiscent of Colin Kaepernik’s kneeling for the anthem, which subsequently sparked a controversy around the idea that he is “disrespecting the flag” and our troops. It’s the same song that is sung every time there is any sort of challenge to the legitimacy of our country’s standing. And it has been particularly effective when it is directed at people of color.

Nothing provides LESS proof of our status as a beacon of freedom and liberty than a forced loyalty oath.

The Mavericks were not being disrespectful to the flag. They were not vocalizing hatred of troops or even of this country. They were practicing what “We, the People” preach about when we speak of peaceful protest. This idea is supposed to be ONE OF OUR BEDROCK PRINCIPLES that we supposedly hold sacred above all else. The toleration of protest and speech made us think America’s new republic was special in the first place. It gave us standing in a world of monarchies.

The right to protest is supposed to give those who are marginalized an opportunity to shout “We Matter!” Instead, they are told to shut up and “respect the flag”. But I’m a white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, straight, cisgender male and I am having a hard time appreciating the flag right now. I am the face of every privilege this country has to offer and I am feeling a sense of disenfranchised with the flag. When the White Christian Men are beginning to feel a sense of emptiness looking at the flag, you know there is a problem…

The last time I saw an American flag was during my viewing of the video footage of the January 6th Insurrection - during the Impeachment Hearings. Hundreds of “red, white, and blue” colors were used as spears and battering rams by traitors and domestic terrorists to storm the Capitol in order to deny the peaceful transfer of power – ANOTHER ONE OF OUR BEDROCK PRINCIPLES.

This footage aired during an impeachment hearing of Donald Trump, a man who represents the most outlandish, abrasive, ignorant, self-interested, classless, tasteless caricature of American values. This should have been an opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency of the American system of “checks and balances”, which is ANOTHER ONE OF OUR BEDROCK PRINCIPLES!

And those checks and balances failed. Injustice won, once again. Why? Because half of our country is so regimented and corrupted in their desire to hold onto their power that they will sacrifice their moral fortitude in order to appeal to their constituents. These constituents represent a massive percentage of Americans who do not want to change. Since democracy is a law of averages, we are only ever going to excel as far as our lowest common denominators allow us.

And our lowest common denominators, who were offended to be called “deplorable” would prefer to deny and deflect than to recognize the truth: that we were all raised in a racist, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic society and that we must actively respond to this truth in order to rectify the situation.

It is not our (white people) fault that we were raised in this White Supremacist society. But it IS our fault when we are exposed to the truth but continue to deny this reality. And that denial is not taking a passive form, either. It is taking dangerously active forms.

It is taking the form of gerrymandering in Southern states where Republican-dominated state houses are trying to take away the right to vote from marginalized groups who, thanks to the work of voter registration movements, were beginning to demonstrate their power. The right to vote for everyone is supposed to be THE SINGLE BIGGEST BEDROCK PRINCIPLE.

Every one of our “bedrock principles” I previously mentioned has been routinely disrespected by almost half of the country. The Republican Party has demonstrated over and over that they do not care about the actual principles we fight for.

The Republican Party are the ones who disrespect the flag and what our troops fight for.

Our whole country’s existence is proving to be one big “alternative fact”. And, what’s worse, there is no soul searching happening. We cannot rectify our country’s past wrongs when half of the country refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem.

Instead, the pivot and deflect. And during this period of feckless denial, our country’s institutions still force a group to “respect” a National Anthem and flag because these icons symbolize our country. They are the premier symbols of our nation, a nation founded on the oppression and violence of black people, indigenous people, other people of color, and women.

To them, this oppression ended long ago so, God Dammit!, you are going to show respect.

As I learned from my time as a teacher, you are not just given respect. You earn respect.

If we want our country to have respect, maybe its time we earn. It can start with our icons. Maybe the “Stars and Stripes”, in its current form, can never recover from the January 6th Insurrection, when our flag marched in lockstep with the Confederate battle flag.

I personally do not think that our flag’s image should recover. This stain should force us to alter it… and all we have to do is add a few stars to the flag. Stars that represent minority-majority states such a Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico (if they wanted), and other “territories” who do not enjoy full rights as American citizens. 

You add those stars to our flag and THAT is a flag that worthy of respecting. At least it’s a start. 

If you want the anthem to be respected, then actively recognize the problematic lyrics and the violent history surrounding the song.

Pour billions of dollars into funding an equitable educational overhaul which will not only tackle the difficult conversations regarding our past but also prepare our students to truly succeed as active, engaged, conscientious democratic citizens.

Once we do that, then we can talk about whether or not you should “respect the flag”. I have a deeper patriotism than many and I know for a fact that the country I love is not showing strength by forcing people to protest the flag in defense of their rights.

It is only a sign of its moral weakness.