Opinion: In defense of the Betsy Ross flag
During
Patriot Week, we fly flags that symbolize freedom, each one
representing a foundational principle derived from our Declaration of
Independence.
Included among these is the Betsy Ross flag, though it is shunned as a symbol of oppression in some quarters.
The detractors of this flag are misinformed, shallow or just plain subversive. Let’s assume they are misinformed:
It's
true: America’s past is bloodied, bruised and blemished with unjust
wars, slavery, gender oppression discrimination and the genocide of
Native Americans. But no nation is free from the sins of the past.
Many
point to Europe as a model to be followed and ignore the hundreds of
millions victimized by the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, World War I, the
French Reign of Terror, the centuries-old Protestant v. Catholic wars,
Rome, imperialism, and the list goes on.
The rest
of the world is no better. Entire civilizations have been wiped out by
enemies. Going back far enough, every person on the planet is likely the
descendant of someone who engaged in what we would consider today to be
barbarism.
So what does America and the Betsy Ross Flag have to offer?
Before
the Declaration of Independence was adopted, no major nation on the
Earth was a republic. That we established a form of government, in
Lincoln’s words, “of the people, by the people, for the people” is more
than enough to deserve praise in the history books. But there is more.
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No
nation in history was dedicated to the proposition that governments
were instituted to protect the unalienable rights of the people. That
remains true today. We believe that our rights come from the creator (or
nature and nature’s law) — not as handouts at the whims of the rulers
— and we have governments to secure those rights.
No
nation embraced the idea of a limited government, establishing a
limited central (federal) authority focused on national issues, while
leaving to local governments (states) matters closer to home, providing
both liberty and good governance.
No
government wrote down their fundamental law. We have the oldest
Constitution in the world. Certainly none allowed the courts to strike
down laws and actions in violation of the Constitution. The denigration
of the rule of law was a centerpiece of why we declared independence,
and it is the linchpin of our Constitution.
No
nation empowered the people through their representatives, invited them
to help draft and debate the fundamental law, and required ratification
of a written constitution to embody and establish a social compact.
No
nation had established an amendment process to fix and improve the
fundamental law and ensured elections to “vote the bums out” — that is,
to alter or abolish the government.
And yes, no other nation had declared as a “self-evident truth” that all men are created equal — not a single one.
At
the time, the Betsy Ross flag symbolized the most free nation in world
history. That nation was not — and is not — perfect. It was and is
bitterly flawed. But even in 1776 it was a monumental achievement.
Those
who fought for emancipation, women’s suffrage and civil rights harkened
to the Declaration of Independence to make America live up to its
promise. Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and Martin Luther King
Jr. saw themselves as the inheritors and defenders of the Spirit of ’76.
That
flag was not a symbol of oppression, but of the most free nation on
Earth — an indispensable stepping stone to the expansion of liberty on
the world stage. We should celebrate, not denigrate it.
