To the editor:
We did an uncharacteristic thing. We bought an American flag and hung it outside the front door of our home. We are not overtly patriotic, but we are civic minded. We are registered independents; we volunteer in our community, I on our Planning Board and my husband formerly in the Volunteer Fire Department, and both of us with our children’s sports teams. We support causes that are important to us. We try to be good neighbors. We answer calls for jury duty. We vote.
When we hung the flag, the thing that was a worry in the back of my mind came true: My children were shocked and worried that we would be perceived negatively, that we would be seen as radical or closed minded. We were distressed.
What has become of us if the flag belongs only to one radical fraction of our country? We explained to our kids that we reject the notion that the flag of the United States should represent only a fraction of the country. The flag is a symbol for hope, for ideals, for opportunity, for work that still needs to be done, for all Americans. Please join us: Hang a flag from your home or business. Take the flag back as a unifying symbol in a diverse and complex country, and in November, vote.
Brandee Nelson
Great Barrington
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