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To continue on the "American national identity" trope. Could the (un)conscious fear of the country loosing cohesiveness the reason for displaying national US si

by jagrsw 5y ago

To continue on the "American national identity" trope. Could the (un)conscious fear of the country loosing cohesiveness the reason for displaying national US signs in many contexts of American life so frequently, in order to counter any possible de-federalisation movements? Flags are frequent on walls of event venues, people put them on cars as stickers/flags or on their clothing (rarely, I know), and the US populace displays national symbols much more frequently than elsewhere (maybe with the exception of war/conflict zones for other reasons). Living in Europe, the flag is used typically in the "us vs them" (sport, marking of some products maybe) and in official (army, embassies, governmental buildings and posts) contexts. Of course, there are exceptions. The "proud to be American" saying doesn't really seem to answer the question, as it's on some level just word salad which begs for another set of explanations, so I was thinking that my original thesis might be closer to the reality.

holywar20 5y ago
The American Flag is a symbol for a set of ideas that we actually hold sacred. Call it a religion if you like. I got one behind me. I put it up the day after Seditionists attacked The Capital. My uncle gave it to me after I returned from an actual war 20 years ago. I think we got reasons to be proud. The Enlightenment was first conceived in goverment here. As a result of that awareness I read all the original European philosophers who made up that 17th century intellectual movement, and I have a deep appreciation for that wisdom and what it helped create. And I think the ideas within are worth defending. I can't speak to a Europeans relationship with his or her country, but there is a good reason both historically and ethically, that ours is so prominent, and I think that identity has been good for the country. And honestly just as an observation it seems more benign to have a flag as a symbol that actually means something to people when there isn't a war or a soccer game, than only trotted out when there is one.

by jagrsw 5y ago

holywar20 5y ago

The American Flag is a symbol for a set of ideas that we actually hold sacred. Call it a religion if you like. I got one behind me. I put it up the day after Seditionists attacked The Capital. My uncle gave it to me after I returned from an actual war 20 years ago. I think we got reasons to be proud. The Enlightenment was first conceived in goverment here. As a result of that awareness I read all the original European philosophers who made up that 17th century intellectual movement, and I have a deep appreciation for that wisdom and what it helped create. And I think the ideas within are worth defending. I can't speak to a Europeans relationship with his or her country, but there is a good reason both historically and ethically, that ours is so prominent, and I think that identity has been good for the country. And honestly just as an observation it seems more benign to have a flag as a symbol that actually means something to people when there isn't a war or a soccer game, than only trotted out when there is one.