American symbol distorted in gaudy displays

Arellano is a first-year graduate student in Latin American
studies.

By Gustavo Arellano

While driving home up Beach Boulevard after the Sept. 11
attacks, people were at street corners and in cars waving American
flags. They were waving signs and urging people to honk their
horns. An e-mail that was circulated to seemingly everyone but me
urged people to do this.

In one sense, I am happy that people have the capacity to unite.
Most of the cars surrounding my date and I were honking like mad,
yelling God knows what jingoistic slogans. If that helps them in
this time of mourning, then more power to them.

But what about tomorrow? Or the day after? Or while more
innocents are being killed, this time on the Afghan side? Will they
also be waving the flag while yet another of our liberties is taken
away? Probably. In fact, most flag-wavers will approve of these
things.

For these reasons, I will not wave the American flag. I refuse
to wave the flag precisely because most of the United States is
doing it. Waving on its own, the American flag is a thing of
beauty, a testament to the spirit of this country. In a sea of red,
white and blue, the flag turns into a weapon of American
arrogance.

By waving the flag, I would admit that I love this country only
when my life is in danger from a foreign threat. I would prove to
my conservative friends that my anti-imperialistic rhetoric is a
sham and that I am a firm believer in a United States that likes to
meddle in the affairs of other countries.

I would acknowledge that my concerns about the foreign and
domestic policy of the Bush administration is forgotten ““
just by waving the flag. I’d like to think that my
commitments are more permanent than that.

Waving the flag is an admission on the part of the American
people that they only care about themselves. What about the
countries that are providing the United States with bases, troops
and moral support? Waving the American flag and shouting “God
Bless America!” our allies are quickly forgotten. If I were
to wave a Mexican or Israeli flag alongside an American flag, my
priorities would be questioned.

Yet these countries also lost citizens in the horrendous
attacks. Should we not also mourn for them and show solidarity in
the face of evil? Waving the Stars and Stripes deprives us of even
thinking about other countries’ miseries by turning terrorism
into a uniquely American problem.

Buying a flag and displaying it prominently to prove loyalty
only disrespects our country further. Many of the flags that I see
flapping on cars are already frayed. What will the people do with
them? Throw them away like all the Lakers flags that were flying
just a few months ago? And in the rush to prove their patriotism,
people quickly forget the proper etiquette regarding the flag that
makes it so special in the first place.

The American flag is not supposed to be used as a bandanna.
It’s not supposed to be worn on a shirt made in a sweatshop
that exists because American companies will not pay American
workers a decent wage. The flag is supposed to be a source of
pride, not a source of cheap bucks or thrills.

My refusal to wave the flag will infuriate many. I will be
shouted down with accusations of treason and probably be told to go
back to where I came from (forget the fact that I’m an
American).

Those people will only further my resolve in not waving the
flag. Is it not the American way to stand for what you believe? By
not waving the flag, I am exercising the most beautiful aspect of
the American experiment ““ freedom of speech. In this case, my
freedom is to not openly express my patriotism.

Will all the people who wave the flag also be protesting when
we’re bombing the hell out of innocents? Will they be there
to support those who will be persecuted? Will they speak out
against “full-blooded” Americans who harass our Arab,
Muslim and Sikh neighbors?

For some reason, all the flag-waving has confirmed for me why
this country is in trouble.