When you see a house where an American flag is displayed, you assume the people inside are patriotic. Yet, simply waving a flag doesn’t make you a patriot. You need to truly believe in the ideals that the flag represents. You need to do more than display it as a means of hiding your true colors.
Following the attacks on September 11th, there was an upsurge in patriotic sentiment. On street after street you could see American flags on each and every home. It was a time when America was united in a unique show of partisanship not seen since World War II. We were truly the United States.
It didn’t last long.
According to reports, the attacks on 9/11 were meant to demoralize American support for those who opposed ISIS and Al Qaeda. By hitting at the heart of America’s financial district, Bin Laden hoped sentiments would turn against the efforts to root out these terrorists' organizations. Bin Laden was as surprised as anyone that the towers actually fell. His plan was to leave them standing as a symbol of America’s failure.
Instead, America rose like a phoenix out of the ashes of the twin towers. Prior to the attacks, George W. Bush appeared to be headed for the same one-term fate as his father, but a united America rallied behind him, leading to our nation’s involvement in the longest military engagement in our history, and the needless invasion of another sovereign nation, Iraq.
The backlash from the 9/11 attacks led to a rise in hate crimes, particularly against the Muslim community. People wrapped themselves in the flag and used the incidents as an excuse to engage in assaults on those they blamed for the horrific events of that fateful day. Hate crimes increased exponentially as many looked the other way, justifying these acts as demonstrations of patriotism.
When Barrack Obama took office, these groups used the birther lie to perpetuate the myth that Obama wasn’t a legitimate president. Racist attacks were added to the repertoire of these alleged patriots who claimed they were fighting for real Americans. These assaults, which included many by members of the law enforcement community, gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement with its corresponding calls to defund the police who were initiating these crimes.
Initially the movement failed to attract much attention. It wasn’t until San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kapernick and others took to one knee during the national anthem that people began to take notice, but for the wrong reasons. Instead of drawing attention to the unfair treatment of Blacks at the hands of law enforcement, those on the right twisted the narrative to make their demonstrations an assault on patriotism.
When the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, also known as the Black National Anthem, was included in the opening ceremonies of the Super Bowl, critics decried it as an affront to patriotism, declaring there is only one national anthem. These very same detractors see no problem rising to their feet when the saccharin Lee Greenwood song, which has become the right-wing anthem, is played.
Many flags were flying on January 6th as these so-called patriots attacked the Capitol in support of the man they believed really won the 2020 presidential election. Except the flags were flying in the wrong direction. Instead of being displayed as signs of patriotism, they were being thrust, swung and even hurled like spears in the direction of the very members of law enforcement they were once defending against the Black Lives Matter movement.
Simply flying a flag, singing a song or showing support aren’t definitive signs you’re a patriot. Patriotism is demonstrated by your words and actions in support of your country, so long as they don’t infringe on the rights of others.