I fly the only US flag on Willy Street.

Politics Extra

Williamson Street, Madison, WI

I fly the only US flag on Willy Street.

I see a US flag at Fire Station #3. I also see other flags. I see Rainbow flags. People value diversity. I see Bitcoin flags. People value fiat currency that really means it when they say “fiat.”¹

But I am the only private citizen to fly the US flag. I know because I’ve checked.

I am a patriot and fly the US flag. I love this country. I have 3 reasons.

First, it’s personal, though my story is similar to many. My Lithuanian father’s early life was Eastern Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. He and his family fled both the Communists and Nazis, and not without a price paid in blood.² Emma Lazarus’ words on The Statue of Liberty were written for my family:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!³

My father was a refugee who came to the US to escape dictatorships of both Left and Right and start anew, like millions before and since him.

The United States is a refuge.

The second reason is contained within the first:

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

The United States represents freedom. It was in fact the declared reason for independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.⁴

Freedom was the rationale for revolution.

The United States was founded for freedom.

The third reason is contained within the second:

all men are created equal

The United States defined itself as a nation-state based on Natural Law.⁵ Rights are inherent, conferred by “God, Nature, or Reason.”⁶ In every previous country, rights were conferred by another, and dependent on that other for their legitimacy.

If one wants a definition of American exceptionalism,⁷ let me offer this one:

The United States was the first country to be formally founded as a Dignity Culture, based on the idea that human rights are inherent in each individual, not dependent upon another.⁸⁹¹⁰

The United States thus became an exemplar and standard for the world.

The United States is based on human rights.

So I fly a US flag to show I love this country, because it is a refuge, founded for freedom, and based on human rights.

The paucity of flags I see speaks either to a difference of opinion, or fear.

Regarding difference of opinion, I believe in the system,¹¹ and others around me may not. That’s possible, and fair.

Regarding fear, let me begin by telling you that I fly the US flag, and I am a Liberal.

That surprises some people.

Recently I met with someone at the Crystal Corner Bar down the street regarding our condo association, and this person said, “I don’t know if you’re Republican or not.” I suspect the fact I fly the US flag had something to do with it.

The flag has become a symbol for being a Conservative, or a Republican.

I get it.

Life is hard and we do what we can to make it easier. Politicians we like become part of our identity. Politicians who oppose politicians we like become part of the identity of their supporters, who now become “our” opponents, too. It’s an easy shortcut for navigating reality, but this is really a category error.¹²

We are not those for whom we vote. In politics we choose the lessor of 2 evils. In families and friendships that is not the appropriate measure.

In making this error, we lose our identity as masters of politicians, and instead become their pawns.

Je proteste.

I prefer the flag to fly above politics, representing the state, not the government.

Part of this is the fault of politicians.

Some months ago and before the mid-term election I saw a political candidate and noticed they were not wearing a flag pin on their shirt.

I knew right then that they were going to lose.

If you are running for office within the system, then perhaps demonstrating one’s enthusiasm for said system is a good idea. It provides logical consistency to your actions. This is only true if you believe in the system, of course; if one doesn't, one might ask why you're running for office in the first place.

But assuming one does believe in the system, politicians are given so few opportunities to so easily demonstrate consistency between word and action. This one should be a freebie.

But politics. How many people would have voted for this person simply for wearing a flag pin? A few. How many people would have voted against this person simply for wearing a flag pin? A few.

I completely understand.

At the level of base political motivation, not wearing a flag pin both won and lost this politician votes among those who operate on a simple “symbol-of-my-tribe” level. This is a political math problem. This politician chose poorly. But winner or loser, politicians who act this way influence voters, and negatively. Wearing a flag pin or not simply to get votes just confirms ones status as an attention-seeker, or worse.

Thankfully, most of us are not politicians.

As stated, there are few opportunities that so easily demonstrate consistency between word and action as believing in the US and flying the flag. Let others worry about your politics. If you’re not a politician, this should be a freebie.

So if you want, fly the US flag. Maybe you’ll start a conversation, and that’s very, very good.

Thus we build community and keep politics in its place by elevating a shared culture above it. People are more moderate and heterodox than we realize, irrespective of political party.¹³ If you talk to them, you’ll discover that. Hold friendships harmless from political tests, leaving them for political parties where they belong.

And if we all disagree more than I think, doesn’t that make my case for conversation and openness even stronger?

It’s scary, I know. Being open and honest can be hard. I’m nervous every time I publish an essay.

Fear is powerful, but distasteful. Consider:

Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.¹⁴

I fly the only US flag on Willy Street.

May there soon be more.

After all, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave.¹⁵

Happy 4th of July!

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1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money

2. https://books.google.com/books?id=bAcVEAAAQBAJ

3. https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/colossus.htm

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_law

6. Ibid.

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism

8. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/communications/chapter/three-prototypes-of-culture/

9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2007471917300078#sec0065

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution

11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_mistake

13. https://www.persuasion.community/p/much-of-americas-political-divide

14. https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=juliuscaesar&Act=2&Scene=2&Scope=scene

15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner

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