Ten For Today: Flag Day

Parliament-Funkadelic, Bob Dylan, Jon & Robin, John Prine, Stiff Little Fingers, Simple Minds, Grant Lee Buffalo, Wilco, John Moreland, Graham Nash

Good afternoon from Boston, the Cradle of Liberty. It’s Flag Day. I am a patriot, and I love the flag and what it stands for, which, it seems to me, is often on the other side of a chasm in relation our posture.

As you may know, I spent some years as a public official, and as such, frequently had the occasion to stand with others and recite the Pledge of Allegiance at public events. I admit that I enjoyed the pomp and pageantry.

What I didn’t (still don’t) enjoy is being expected to say words that were never meant to be there - namely the phrase “under God,” which was inserted on his day in 1954, 62 years after the first iteration of the Pledge.

So, what I always did at those public events, standing on some dais or in a theatre or wherever, was just not say those words, “under God.” I’d be silent for that beat.

The Founders and the Framers were definitely NOT silent on the separation of church and state (and yes, I know God and church are two different things, but that’s NOT what was intended in 1954).

Over time, as I thought about the things that are important to me in being a patriot, I began to insert different words in place of “under God.” I’d say, “one nation, under a Groove, indivisible…” I did it quietly, under my breath. It was my secret rebellion.

The Fs and Fs WERE in fact silent on the separation of funk and state (fünkenstate is the German word) as far as I know. And I’m pretty sure they would appreciate my stance.

Going back decades, but especially since 2007, when the hatemongers known as the Tea Party emerged from the darkest recesses of Ron Paul’s and the Koch Brothers’ brains, white “Christian” nationalists have wrapped themselves in the iconography of the stars and stripes. And we have let them. We have allowed them to make it so that when many of us see a flag, we assume that behind it is a person with whom we have fundamental disagreements about pretty much everything. It’s time to take it back, and maybe adapt it, so that it represents the patriotism of people who love their country despite its imperfections, and seek to work to address its injustices and realize its promise. (I wrote about this very thing a couple of months back if you are interested.)

Anyway, below are nine more to add to the one above, making this Ten For Today: Flag Day.

This is a 1963 performance of a 1962 song in which Dylan exposes Betsy Ross for the Communist she really was. Who knew? (Bob knew.)

This is from 1969, and it’s about peeing on something to claim it as yours, even though it really isn’t. Mercy (my dog) and I debate this all the time.

This is from 1971, and it’s about a decal, not a flag. But still.

Yes, yes, I know these lads are from the North of Ireland, and their target was Thatcher (their version of our Reagan) but a few small lyric changes and this is an instant American classic. You don’t even have to change the colors. It’s from 1980.

This is how people from other countries sometimes feel when they see our flag coming. It’s from 1981.

This is from 1993, so, ahead of its time.

2001. Obvs.

This is from 2015, and it’s really interesting because in the hands of a different artist, it COULD be about something very different. The black and white version of the flag has represented many things over the years, and the version that features one line of color (like blue, for instance) became ubiquitous in some places as a backlash to the anti-police sentiment that reached a boiling point in the wake of the George Floyd murder. Anyway, I think we probably have to take this guy at his word, that it’s really about a photograph, BUT as we know, a piece of music sometimes produces meaning not intended by the artist, depending on the context.

Finally, it sounds like Graham is losing faith here, in 2023. I GET IT.

Anyway, Happy Flag Day. Stand if you are able, and join me in the Pledge, as it should be recited.

Be kind. Kindness is resistence.

Joyce

Currently reading, and thoroughly enjoying this one.