The Tragic Condition of the American “Flag” (The VERB Not the Noun)

Until today, I didn’t know the word “flag” was also a verb with a rather tragic meaning. Now I can’t unlearn it…

image created in Adobe Firefly by the author

FLAG: verb (used without object),flagged, flag·ging.
1. to fall off in vigor, energy, activity, interest, etc.

If you compare the rallies and protests across the world right now and those in the United States, one thing is demonstrably missing in the U.S. rallies.

Have you caught it?

Last weekend, I watched the film Shining Through, featuring Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, and Liam Neeson. The movie follows a young, bright woman who becomes an American spy assigned to Germany during the height of the Nazi Regime. Watching the scenes set in Germany, one thing was 100% clear. The German Government understood the power of iconography. The Nazi symbol and flag was EVERYWHERE. Every scene and street was a flood of Red, White, and Black.

It was a national patriotism, often forced but ubiquitously visualized.

We are seeing the same thing today in Nations across the world. All except one. From Istanbul to Spain to the Soviet Union, one thing is common in all the press photos– flags. They are worn…