Grand Old Flag

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Rather than blind conformity to the current regime, patriotism could just as easily mean openly embracing the progressive ideals upon which the nation was founded—corny old 18th-century concepts like liberty, equality, justice, and freedom—and attaching them to the issues we care about. Fair wages for service employees, equal opportunity for immigrants, and affordable housing for the homeless can all be seen as patriotic efforts.

NO MATTER WHERE WE focus our patriotic efforts, we first need to shed the conceit that tells us that any identification with the flag is just frivolous symbolism that links us with George W. Bush, John Ashcroft, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. That is not true.

As we saw so vividly in the aftermath of 9/11, patriotism is a powerful message that touches millions of ordinary Americans, many of whom disagree with the current administration on important issues and would welcome a progressive political alternative. By disavowing or ridiculing these symbols, we lose an opportunity to reach those people with ideas they may also embrace.

But this is not just about forwarding a set of political ideas or winning elections. It’s about reclaiming a share of a cultural tradition that binds us together as a people. It’s about participating again in the big conversation that is supposed to be the American experiment.

So I’m going to take that flag out of my closet and fly it proudly, for my own reasons. Let’s stand up for our country—at least those progressive values deep at the heart of the American idea. Go ahead: qualify, equivocate, blush even. I know I will. But let’s find our own unique patriotism and blast our message with all its ambivalence to the rest of the world. It won’t stop politicians from wrapping themselves in the flag, but it just might keep them from using it to smother the rest of us.

Craig Cox is Utne’s executive editor.

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