Summary:
The article is a commentary urging Americans to reclaim the U.S. flag as a symbol of democracy and resistance, especially during protests like the upcoming “No Kings Day” on June 14. This date, which marks Flag Day and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, is also President Trump’s birthday—when he reportedly plans a military-style celebration.
The writer argues that the American flag shouldn’t be abandoned by protestors just because it’s often used by Trump supporters. Instead, it should be reclaimed as a tool for protest, representing the defense of free speech, justice, and democratic values. The flag has a long history in progressive movements—from labor strikes to Martin Luther King Jr.’s marches—and should continue to be a visible symbol of dissent.
The commentary warns of a rising culture of corruption, authoritarianism, and the erosion of constitutional rights under Trump, echoing concerns once raised by Thomas Jefferson. The author also draws parallels with Vietnam, where patriotism was used as a unifying force during resistance movements, suggesting that national pride can empower protest.
Ultimately, the article encourages people to bring American flags to anti-Trump demonstrations as a powerful visual statement: “The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us.”
On June 14, more than 1,000 local demonstrations will challenge President Donald Trump’s North Korean-style military parade for his birthday with a defense of democracy.
As the commentary reminds us, the 14th is also Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. “The flag can’t replace protest signs. But it complements and amplifies them.” The demonstrations aim to send a message: “even as Trump and his allies wrap themselves in their flags, they are betraying the best of America.”
A Culture of Corruption and a Call to Speak Out
The author describes a culture “where the only Americans who matter are allies of Trump at the top,” and any persons or institutions who challenge this become “subjects of attacks.” In contrast, the protestors’ flags make it clear they are “defending Americans’ fundamental right to speak out, without which all other rights become meaningless.”
The message isn’t only for those already protesting. It’s “a message to all who agree with us but also to all those Americans who voted for Trump or stayed home, rejecting both candidates. Because to change the direction of our country, the support of at least some of these people will be essential.”
The Flag Doesn’t Belong to Trump
As “No Kings Day” reminds us, “The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us.” And yet, the author observes, “at most anti-Trump protests, flags have been absent or marginal. I counted one when several thousand people marched in Seattle this past May Day, plus scattered Uncle Sam and Statue of Liberty images.”
The absence of flags may stem from how “carrying the flag feels uncomfortable, a false embrace for many who’ve marched to challenge American wars, call out racial injustice, or push back against corporate power.” But the flag also stands for “legacies of courage and sacrifice that should give us all hope and strength, like the classic World War II image of GIs raising it over Iwo Jima.”
Standing for Democratic Mechanisms
The flag represents “the imperfect but essential mechanisms of democracy that Trump’s regime so profoundly threatens.” These mechanisms allow Americans “to keep working for justice.”
Citing Thomas Jefferson’s opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts—whose “remnants Trump is now abusing”—the article draws a stark warning: “These acts created the power of kings,” Jefferson warned, citing threats to the “constitutional rights and liberties of the States and people… marked by the suspicions of the President.” The acts “first targeted ‘the friendless alien,’ Jefferson wrote, but ‘the citizen will soon follow.’”
A History of Flags in Protest
Flags have long been part of protest traditions. “American labor activists from the radical IWW union carried them at the Lawrence Textile ‘Bread and Roses’ Strike.” They appear “next to Martin Luther King Jr. in photos from the 1963 March on Washington and his talks at anti-war rallies.”
The article notes how demonstrators in South Korea recently used their national flags to help defeat “President Yoon Suk Yeol’s dictatorial power grab.” While some anti-Trump rallies have already started featuring flags, “they need to become protest staples to help take the flag back.”
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Lessons from Vietnam
A trip to Vietnam offered a lesson in the power of national pride. “Americans are welcomed now, even as museums, statues, and street names commemorate heroes in what they call ‘the American war.’”
Vietnam’s resistance legacy includes honoring “13th, 15th, and 16th-century kings who resisted and eventually defeated repeated invasions by the Chinese and Mongols.” These kings were not dismissed as feudal relics; rather, their stories were presented “as part of a continuing story of resistance.” During the war, “Ho Chi Minh and other leaders talked of fighting for their country, not communism.”
“Whatever the limits of Vietnam’s current regime in terms of democracy,” the article explains, this framing worked “because the roots of national patriotism ran deeper than any particular ideology.”
Patriotism as Resistance
“The threat to American democracy that those of us marching address is internal, of course,” the author notes, referencing “white South African billionaires Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and David Sacks.” But the takeaway remains: “the lesson of patriotism and national pride as a wellspring of resistance still holds true.”
The writer reflects, “I’ve learned to appreciate those who bring flags to social justice protests. And I finally bought my own the other week at my local hardware store to complement a ‘Don’t Putinize America’ sign I plan to carry.”
The response from the young woman at the counter was telling. Initially seeing the older white man with a flag, “she seemed to mark me…as a likely Trump supporter.” But once he explained it was for the No Kings Day protest, “she broke into a grin.”
“No matter our anger or disappointment for America failing to achieve much of what it should be, we need to defend what we have had and the possibility of what could be. Making the flag our own helps us do that.”
