Posted on 11/09/2003 10:10:50 AM PST by moodyskeptic
Flag is Divisive in post 9/11 World.
It's no great skill, but I work hard at listening to ranting liberals without interrupting. I suppress my urge to correct them. I clench my teeth and shut up. And it's harder than you might imagine. These people are my friends and sometimes my family, nice folks from whom I do not want to become estranged. But the stuff I hear shocks me.
One pal confides that he has evolved a hatred of the American flag, since 9/11. At first, he says, the overt flag waiving that popped up after the terrorist attack was merely annoying. It made him uncomfortable. So far so good.
When the initial burst of patriotism cooled down, after about six months, the "national zeitgeist" (his term) changed. The remaining flag waivers became obnoxious warmongers in his eyes. He speaks for many liberals. This I know.
Today, overt displays of flags on vehicles, on houses, flag pins, car decals; even patriotic messages on commercial vehicles enrage the Left. Truly. They see this new flag waiving as in-your-face mindless cheerleading for the Bush administration. You see, the flag has become a divisive symbol. A polarizing influence.
Dividing the Bush lovers from the Bush haters. Dividing the blame-America-first nation from the Support Iraqi War nation. Bush as Savior vs. Bush as Hitler. Left vs. Right. Believe it or not, many Americans actually seethe in simmering rage at the sight of overt flag displays. It offends their personal politics, as if it were a direct insult.
And don't you DARE call these flag haters unpatriotic! They see themselves as merely exercising their constitutional right to criticize the White House. They are progressive. To them, blind patriotism is worse than socialism. Truth is, the two sides of this cultural struggle are heading in opposite directions.
The mushy gray middle is disappearing, and liberal moderates and conservative moderates are polarizing into Left and Right. The Right pushes the flag into the face of the Left and dares the Left to complain. But the Left will complain only in whispers, or to someone who will listen without interrupting or correcting.
The things I hear.
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