What Do All the Flags Mean?

What message are they shouting out at us?

Image by Gemini AI

At 71, I have a pretty good idea of what has changed over the years.

Westerns are no longer big on TV.

Politics, Nixon, and the Vietnam War, God, they seem like sunshine in the summertime compared to what we have to deal with today.

The point is, things change. Reality shifts and bobs and moves in ways we’re not used to. Maybe technology and innovation have softened up the old, time-space continuum so that nothing seems fixed anymore.

Just when we’re getting used to things, it all flips over. The top becomes the bottom and we’re left standing in awe or ignorance of what things now mean.

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In the last eight years or so, I’ve seen many changes regarding Old Glory. Sure, in the late ‘60s, American flags were stitched onto T-shirts or cut up and made into one.

Flags were symbolic. Sometimes revered, sometimes hated and burned. Not like the flag had an actual say in matters that tore families apart.

The real important stuff, the ideals and ideas that make the country behind it special, is supposed to remain constant, something for all of us to hold onto.

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The other day while picking up groceries I saw 8 flags on a single pick-up truck, all flying in the wind. No message, no political stickers, just 8 flags.

What does that mean?

I’ve seen a smaller version stenciled on the back of a pick-up cab or SUV window, usually with the date of someone who died. A Vet perhaps or a child.

I’ve seen giant oversized flags flying outside of businesses. I mean flags that one could wrap an entire house in, flying next to a small state flag or nothing at all.

When it’s that big does it take on a whole new meaning?

The sense I get and this is just my take on things, is that the person flying those flags was making a statement and taking the time and effort to make it clear.

What first popped into my mind was that it meant – I’m a Patriot. I love America.

Well, I love America and I’ve met thousands of people over the years who’ve loved America as much as I did and none of them had flags on their cars or trucks or even outside their homes.

So, what do 8 of them on a single truck say?

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Now, emotions are tricky things. You look at the missus and ask – are you upset? Just something you’re thinking, and she stares at you and says, no, I’m feeling pretty good actually.

So, when I pass these trucks and there have been a few hundred of them, over the past few years, I sense anger.

Perhaps it’s patriotic anger financial anger or political anger, but the vibe is pretty clear. Especially when they honk their horns at intersections or carry signs with messages that aren’t very nice.

But what makes me curious and if I’m being honest, a little concerned as well, is why our flag has become a tool. A large blunt object used to bang home a point in others.

Maybe, you’re with us or against us. Maybe, we’re winning.

I never thought of our flag as a political instrument. Like a megaphone a billboard or even a hastily put-together banner with paint drips and inflammatory words written to intimidate.

I always thought of the flag as a security blanket. Yeah, maybe a little childlike, I admit, but something warm and protective that kept harm and hurt away from us.

Something neutral that represented a great deal but never, not once, pushed those ideals into someone’s face as a threat.

A warning, sure. Don’t mess with us. Be nice and we’ll be nice and even helpful.

But lately, I’m not so sure. Lately, words and symbols we’ve used forever have been repurposed. Redefined and made to mean something completely different.

Something so different from their original meaning that it makes one wonder, what’s the point of that? Why not use a whole new word?

Why use a word or symbol that stands for peace or the potential of great power used wisely and turn it into a weapon?

I liked the old meaning of Old Glory. Maybe it was just my meaning, but I have a feeling it meant the same for others as well.

And whether we flew one outside our homes or businesses, didn’t matter. It’s what was in our hearts that mattered.

And when threatened we knew what to do.

Today, it’s not so clear anymore and that worries me.

Anyway, food for thought, I guess.