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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sunday, February 12, 2017, 5:00 AM

One of the things most obvious to me as I watched images of the peaceful protest by Yemeni Americans against the Trump administrations seven-nation travel ban wasnt the size of the crowd. The thousands who turned out at Brooklyns Borough Hall made it impressive for sure, as was the coordination they employed in mobilizing to shut their bodega shops en masse.

No, it was the sight of the star-spangled banner that the men waved that had me riveted. Many held only the American flag, while others raised it in one hand and waved Yemens flag in the other. Others wore the Stars and Stripes draped around their shoulders, like a protective shield.

Whatever flag they carried, the American flag outnumbered all other flags that late afternoon. Seeing that many U.S. flags hoisted as a symbol for the values this country represents for immigrants was a beautiful thing.

And it was refreshing. You dont see our flag that much at the other protests that have taken place since Trump was elected as President. I participated in the Womens March on D.C. the day after his inauguration and for the most part, the American flag was missing in action.

When I searched images of the simultaneous marches that took place across the country, our flag was hard to find. Viewing photos of the protest against the Iraq war in 2003, it didnt pop out there, either.

In 2007, when then.-Sen Barack Obama caught flak about why he didnt wear a flag pin, he responded that he was less concerned with what you were wearing on your lapel than whats in your heart.

Too many of those of us who believe that our country is failing to live up to its ideals and cultural values seem to have abandoned the flag. It seems we cant square the patriotic act of protesting with the pride of carrying our flag.

Theres history here. During the landmark civil rights marches of the 1960s, protesters waved the American flag. They owned it as a symbol of freedom in their struggle for equal rights. A few years later, protesters marching against the Vietnam War rebranded the flag with peace signs, while others burned it. For many the flag was no longer something that inspired pride; it had become tarnished by the countrys domestic and foreign policy.

And that belief, whether explicitly or subliminally, seems to have carried the day: When it comes to anti-government protests, the left seems to have distanced itself from the flag. Somehow we cant reconcile the lack of pride we may feel with our government with reverence for the country.

And so, pride of place for our flag has been seized by Republican Party, as they stand on their soapbox of patriotism.

After 9/11, the Stars and Stripes made a comeback. From sea to shining sea, Americans flew flags from their porches, windows and rooftops. In the liberal neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn, flags waved in the autumn breeze. Hell, I even flew one from my fire escape. It was a beautiful thing

Then the Bush administrations vain attempts to connect the dots between the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon led to the invasion of Iraq. They used fear and the propaganda of weapons of mass destruction to justify this war.

U.S. troops wouldnt fully withdraw until 2011, and in the end it resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. The government called them casualties. Over those eight years, many of us put away our flags. We lowered them from their stoop perches and front yard poles. We werent so proud anymore.

Now we find ourselves under a Trump administration. Many Americans are alarmed and frightened. Presidential executive orders are signed with a dramatic flourish of a pen but without any forethought about the consequences.

Its time those of us who think we cant square our patriotic values with our countrys flag to rethink the meaning of patriotism.

Those of us who love our country but hate the direction in which it seems to be headed cannot let others who love our country to claim the flag as their own.

The flag is owned by liberal America just as much as it is by conservative America.

As ideological battle lines are drawn and those of us on the left march against ideas we consider to be un-American and antithetical to our Constitution, its time we waved our banner high.

Santino is a travel and non-fiction writer based in Brooklyn.

Link:
Fellow liberals: Reclaim the flag - New York Daily News