The Enigmatic Power of the Flag

We all know the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Indeed, a painting may convey the full range of human emotion, the worldly condition of its subjects and their relationship with a higher power or practice, all with an economy of masterful strokes that a hefty tome cannot describe. Symbols, likewise—not so much for what they inherently convey, but for the meaning we invest them with—convey almost as much information as a painting. Which brings me to the flag of the United States of America.

According to a U.S. Government website, “The flag's 13 red and white stripes represent the 13 original colonies. Its 50 white stars on a blue background represent the 50 states.” Furthermore, the red stands for “valor and bravery,” white stands for “purity and innocence,” and blue stands for "vigilance, perseverance, and justice.” But how does this description even begin to do justice to the emotions felt by a family member of someone who has died “fighting for that flag” or a recent immigrant looking upon it for the first time as a naturalized citizen?

The author with his newly acquired U.S. flag

The potential to convey such deep emotion is what gives the flag its power. Trying to understand it in purely rational terms cannot do it justice. For instance, I recall trying to make sense of the Pledge of Allegiance: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands…” Even my schoolboy self understood that the flag was a symbol representing the country. So, when we pledged allegiance to the flag AND to that for which it stands, I was confused. Are we really pledging allegiance to this inanimate piece of fabric IN ADDITION to what it represents? What does that even mean? Of course, my questioning of the “one Nation under God” part would soon follow. But that’s another story.

Yes, the flag is a powerful emotional symbol. As such, it would benefit us all if we could agree on precisely what it means to fly it. But we don’t. It’s especially difficult when we try to embellish or modify it or use it in a sentence (so to speak) instead of simply letting it stand on its own. For instance, what does it mean when someone flies the U.S. flag alongside a flag representing their political candidate of choice? Are they merely saying that their candidate would be best for the country, or are they somehow equating or conflating both candidate and country? After all, if the U.S. flag is flown with a state flag, for comparison’s sake, protocol states that the U.S. flag should be flown higher or in a manner that signifies higher status.

You may also have noticed a trend of late whereby the flag is modified in a way to honor some subset of the U.S. populace. For instance, the “thin blue line” flag is meant to honor law enforcement. The “thin red line” flag honors firefighters. Are these flags held in higher esteem than the official red, white, and blue one? It would seem so, since they are often displayed by themselves. What does that say about the true allegiance of the flyer of such a flag? These are definitely not the flag to which our kids are pledging allegiance.

Recent variations of the U.S. flag

And then there are the grayscale or black and white versions of the flag. These might actually be easy to understand if, in fact, they are conveying a protest or political statement related to the “colors” of this country having faded. In other words, the dream that was fought for is gone, stolen, or in dire need of resuscitation. But such a monochromatic flag might also signify mourning after a national disaster such as on 9/11. The timing and context might shed light on the message, or not. It might just be that the flyer (or wearer) of such a flag has Goth or heavy metal fashion sensibilities. Again, such flags are not the flag of the United States of America to which people pledge allegiance.

Which brings me to the red, white, and blue adorned punisher skull. For my way of thinking, this is one of the more straightforward adaptations of the flag. It speaks to me of a worldview without nuance, hope, goodness, or grace. It speaks to me of violence, retribution, and a lack of empathy and humanity. In fact, I’m sorry to say that it seems a fitting representation of the nation we’ve become of late. However, I still have faith that it is not the flag to which people are pledging allegiance.

I must admit, I’ve been rather ambivalent toward the flag for most of my life. From my first ponderings of the Pledge of Allegiance to my realizations regarding our theft of land and people and our pursuit of unjust wars, it’s been difficult for me to fully embrace the flag without being able to add an abundance of footnotes and asterisked annotations to my flying its colors. It’s not that I don’t have gratitude towards those who put their lives on the line fighting for the liberty that I now enjoy. I very much do. It’s just that those who did fly the flag seemed to me, from my place of prejudice, to lack an appreciable understanding of what we’ve done as a nation and the suffering we’ve caused. And so, perhaps with some arrogance, I was not quick to want to join them in such a public display of uncomplicated patriotism.

Besides, I’ve long considered myself a citizen of the world. To fly a flag of this nation seemed to be committing a violent act of separation from all other nations of the world. For what it’s worth, though, I’m even less inclined to fly the so-called Buddhist flag. Believe it or not, there is one, and it strikes me as patently un-Buddhist! But I digress.

It is rather strange, then, that I should wrap myself in the U.S. flag some weeks ago during the No Kings protest. How is that even possible given everything I’ve just said? The fact is, though, my perception of our citizenry having divided itself into all these various camps of blue-line flags, red-line flags, gray-tone flags, and punisher flags—not to mention Confederate flags and Gadsden (don’t tread on me) flags—has brought me around to embracing the flag of the United States of America as I didn’t think I could. I’ve come to feel that what we need as a nation is a radical return to embracing all that is good and hopeful and accepting and diverse and democratic and freedom-minded. We need to transcend our individual differences and prejudices and, quite literally, rally around the flag. I’ll let you be your conservative self. You let me be my flaming liberal self. Together, let’s embrace the democratic values this nation was founded on. And remember, only fly the flag from sunrise to sunset unless it is properly illuminated. 

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This post is in the Power, Practice, and Peace series.

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Images

All images courtesy of the author except for those used to compile the montage of modified flags.

 

Copyright 2025 by Mark Robert Frank