Public Project
American Flags
Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, what does the flag, our flag, mean to you?
Flags can be beautiful things that give communities and nations something symbolic to rally around. The same flag can also be decisive and horrific.
Throughout our history the Stars and Stripes has been both a rallying point and a symbol of oppression, often at the same time. As the unfurled embodiment of our highest ideals, Old Glory stands for freedom, liberty, equality, and democratic principles. In our country’s darker moments the American flag has been equated with oppression, blatant inequality, colonialism, and blind self-righteousness.
In “Notes on Nationalism” George Orwell defines patriotism as “devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people.” In the same essay Orwell defines nationalism as “the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.” Orwell acknowledges there’s often little distinction between the two and argues that “patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally” but “nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power.”
We are at a time in the history of the American experiment that is causing many to question the meaning behind the flag. Does every citizen have equality under the law? (Did they ever?) Are we truly free to speak our mind?
American Flags looks at how we, the citizens of America, use the flag to project personal ideas on a national symbol.
Flags can be beautiful things that give communities and nations something symbolic to rally around. The same flag can also be decisive and horrific.
Throughout our history the Stars and Stripes has been both a rallying point and a symbol of oppression, often at the same time. As the unfurled embodiment of our highest ideals, Old Glory stands for freedom, liberty, equality, and democratic principles. In our country’s darker moments the American flag has been equated with oppression, blatant inequality, colonialism, and blind self-righteousness.
In “Notes on Nationalism” George Orwell defines patriotism as “devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people.” In the same essay Orwell defines nationalism as “the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.” Orwell acknowledges there’s often little distinction between the two and argues that “patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally” but “nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power.”
We are at a time in the history of the American experiment that is causing many to question the meaning behind the flag. Does every citizen have equality under the law? (Did they ever?) Are we truly free to speak our mind?
American Flags looks at how we, the citizens of America, use the flag to project personal ideas on a national symbol.
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