‘Not for Trump, and, yes, will fly the flag’

Hanging out our flag for the Fourth of July triggered two memories.

First, I recalled our late neighbor Ken, a World War II Naval veteran. One day, several years ago, he walked over to thank us for flying the American flag on national holidays. To him, the flag was a strong reminder of what he and his shipmates had fought to preserve.

My second memory concerned one of our granddaughters who watched me put up the flag during the run-up to Joe Biden’s election. “Don’t put the flag out!” she said. “People will think you’re for Trump!”

This, of course, shows just how effective the MAGA people have been in appropriating the American flag as the symbol of their movement.

But, no, we’re not for Trump, and, yes, we will continue to fly the flag.

The question is, what does Old Glory mean to two south Eugene liberals, children of the ’60s, if we don’t subscribe to MAGA’s nostalgic vision of an America set in Mayberry, filled with white Christian folks untroubled by gender problems, by feminism or by a deteriorating environment?

To us, the flag stands for a nation that follows its motto, “From Many: One.” Ours is a nation of immigrants joined with the native tribes who were here before any of us. That is one of our greatest strengths: a continuing influx of people who share our view of a place where we can live as we wish, of free and fair elections, and of basic rights and freedoms.

In speaking of our system of government, a fellow Illinois native and former presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, said, “Democracy is a system that institutionalizes revolution.”

We believe that.

Presidents backed by a majority of their parties in both houses of Congress can make sweeping changes. Think of Franklin D. Roosevelt or Donald Trump! We don’t need an armed revolution to make big changes.

We also value our freedom of – or from – religion. America has no state religion and people are free to build their houses of worship and pursue their beliefs, as long as they do not infringe upon the religious freedoms of others.

We think, too, of our freedom to go where we wish, to live where we wish and to pursue our dreams.

It would be naïve to suggest that America is perfect or has no problems. But since 1945 when we were born, tremendous progress has been made on issues such as race, gender and the environment. Given the will, that progress can continue.

The American flag predates the MAGA movement by almost 2 1/2 centuries, and will be flying when MAGA is merely a historical footnote.

Fly it with pride!