A New Stars and Stripes

Posted on August 17, 2003 in Encounters

I saw a new bumper sticker patched to the back of a pickup. It said “I stand by President Bush”. What interested me most was a new flag that waved next to the statement. The banner, which was patterned loosely after the Stars and Stripes, omitted eight of the stripes and many of the stars. The field of blue was equal in depth to the five stripes, alternately red, white, red, white, red from top to bottom.

“Interesting,” I said to Lynn. “A new flag. What do you suppose the five stripes stand for?” I counted off names: “Bush, Rove, Cheney, Powell –” I stopped to think for a second. “And Rumsfeld. The Five. The New America.”

Does this count as flag desecration? It’s a sign of something new and insidious, that’s for certain.