Flags as “Sacred Carriers”
Flags in their physical form are just pieces of cloth but they take on a larger and deeper meaning for many groups. An example is America ’s “Old Glory,” as the Sacred Carrier, for the United States. Flags of other countries take on similar meanings. Flags as sacred carriers have characterized groups of people throughout history and are among humankind’s oldest and most fundamental creations.
Flags have become poignant symbols in the aftermath of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting, whether it’s the Confederate flag flying on government property or the emblems of two notoriously racist regimes sewed onto the jacket of Dylann Roof, the man authorities have charged with committing the attack.
Sacred Carriers are meaning laden physical objects around which groups of people gather to foster an environment where some are considered the “in-group,” and some are considered the “out-group.” Through such “sacred carriers,” group members can more effectively identify with one another and solidify their links with the “in-group,” and subsequently identify those not welcome as the “out-group.” These objects hold the same place in group identification as ego does in personal identification. Flags as sacred carriers hold both symbolic and functional purposes. In order for the “in-group” to hold their ego and social identity, they hold fast to the sacred carriers and its symbolism because the carrier has a collective purpose related to their place in the world. Sacred carriers basically identify who’s in and who’s out. Dylann Roof had flags strategically mounted on his clothing and his car….all carriers of his ideas of exclusion.
For all these reasons, the Confederate Flag over South Carolina’s Capitol must come down if there is to the beginning of healing. The Confederate Flag still represents a “divided South.” It still reminds the community of an “us and them” system; not fully inclusive or welcoming. I’m reminded of an old African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” The 21st century South must go together.
Angi English has a Master’s in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and a Master’s in Educational Psychology from Baylor University. She lives in Austin, Texas.
