Star-spangled flag of the United States banners are everywhere this weekend as the nation marks its 250th birthday. Bill LeBeau says that sight now carries a political charge he did not know growing up.
"It makes me sad," said LeBeau, the Massachusetts adjutant of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said, "When I was growing up, this was never a thing. Everybody in the country knew what the flag was."
April survey by National Opinion Research Center
An and National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago survey in April found sharp differences in how Americans treat the flag. About 70 percent of Republicans fly it at least on national holidays, while about 60 percent of Americans ages 60 and older do the same.
About 60 percent of Democrats and independents said they never fly it. Among Democrats under 45, that figure rose to about 75 percent. Only about 30 percent of Black adults said they ever display the banner.
Peter Drummey on 1777
Peter Drummey, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War and retired chief historian at the Massachusetts Historical Society, said the basic elements of the flag were settled in 1777. The Founders chose 13 stars and 13 stripes, which represented the rebellious Colonies.
Drummey said, "It seems odd to go through a couple of years of the Revolution before they have what seems to be this logical and essential symbol." He also said, "People can agree what a symbol is, but not what it is symbolizing."
He added, "What it symbolizes to me is this question of free speech and equal rights for the people under it."
Jack Hammond and Home Base
Jack Hammond, a retired Army brigadier general and chief executive at Home Base, said the flag has a special place for veterans. He said, "When I was serving overseas, we weren’t supposed to be putting American flags up, but we did it."
He also said, "But after coming back to the base after a firefight in Fallujah, you knew you were home."
The flag is still a unifying national emblem, but LeBeau, Drummey and Hammond describe a symbol that now carries different meanings across party, age and race. That split is most visible during the Fourth of July stretch, when the banner is on display and its meaning is being argued in plain sight.
