I explained that my dad, a World War II veteran, flew a flag in front of our home and that our family continues the tradition. “The flag belongs to everyone,” I told him. Unconvinced, he mumbled something about “the data” connecting flags to Trump.

To the serious young man who rang my doorbell in search of support to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations, those dual realities didn’t compute. After I told him I didn’t want to sign the petition or contribute money, he brought up the flag. Based on his personal door-to-door experience, American flags often decorate the homes of Trump backers opposed to his cause, he said.


Under Trump, the flag has become a flashpoint and symbol of division, just as it was during the anti-Vietnam War protest era. Trump rallies during the 2016 presidential campaign featured an abundance of flag-wavers, and there were reports of a surge in flag sales attributed to political activism. Trump happily fired up old tensions when he tweeted, after his election: “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag — if they do, there must be consequences — perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!”

His declaration was inspired by the flag controversy that broke out at Hampshire College in Amherst, the day after Trump’s election. Someone lowered the flag to half-mast. Then someone else set it on fire. When the college then took down the flag to de-escalate emotions, national headlines, debate, and protests broke out. First Amendment experts quickly schooled President-elect Trump on flag burning as protected speech. Ultimately the flag went back up at Hampshire College. But at protests around the country, it continues to divide the left and right. Pro-Trump demonstrators often carry flags. Some Trump resisters burn them.


The Supreme Court has upheld flag burning as a form of free speech and, of course, I support that right. But what about the right to fly the flag and not be profiled as a right-wing Trump voter? That requires tolerance and open-mindedness from the left, which tends to be more cynical about displays of patriotism.

A recent essay in The Progressive, reflecting on “Flag Day in the Trump Era,” addressed Trump’s “overwrought vision of patriotism” and connected his “America First” sloganeering to President Woodrow Wilson, whose call for a nationwide observance of Flag Day in 1916 coincided with a policy of American isolationism. Uber-nationalistic appeals, wrote Leslie Hahner, “can harm democracy and may result in violence. . . . Even absent eruptions of violence, overbearing understandings of patriotism can impede robust democratic engagement.”

The recent shooting of Republican Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana and three others by a man identified as a Bernie Sanders supporter, of course, raised the specter of violence from the left. While the rush to blame political vitriol for such incidents is simplistic, in today’s supercharged political climate, it’s inevitable. Certainly, the left would be on high outrage alert if a Trump loyalist committed a similar act. There would be scant sympathy for linking any such violence to mental illness. The left would blame Trump for inciting his supporters, just as the right is blaming liberals for the Scalise shooting.

Even if it falls short of violence, patriotism on steroids from the right “can impede robust democratic engagement.” But so can assumptions from the left about flags and political beliefs.


I oppose Trump’s environmental agenda, which is essentially a commitment to demolish protections put in place under President Obama. There’s power in fighting it in the name of patriotism and the flag that flies in front of my home. Why cede ownership of that flag to the other side?

Correction: My column of June 20 referred incorrectly to the bill passed by the House to repeal and replace Obamacare. It is the American Health Care Act.

Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @Joan_Vennochi.