The Flags of Our Fathers

Provocative article by Olga Bonfiglio about the Flag as we approach Flag Day. She recounts how she came across the flag in conjuction with a Bush/Cheney sticker and got very angry, just be seeing that symbol. She then covers the history of the flag and how it has been with us in our triumphs and tragedies, finishing with this paragraph.

Today, however, the flag has taken on a new meaning. Outside of the country it has become a banner for violence, domination, torture, and intimidation. At home it has become a symbol of exclusion. We are truly losing ourselves as Americans and as we destroy our democracy we are also tearing our beloved flag into shreds. Will we ever see a day when we are united again around those beautiful stars and stripes?

The bolds are my own; that line I find the most important. The Republicans have tried to take the flag, indeed all symbols of patriotism, as their own. Waving a flag should mean that one is an American, not that one buys into all that Rovian nonsense. But they've blurred the lines enough that it there is a tension.

Which I suppose is what they were shooting for.