There has been a concerted effort among many on the left to convince Americans to hate their country — and by extension its flag. Presiden...
There has been a concerted effort among many on the left to convince Americans to hate their country — and by extension its flag.
President Joe Biden is among them, stating during his inaugural address and many times since that the country is systemically racist. Educators teach critical race theory and related subjects, trying to convince their students that they are either oppressors or oppressees based on the color of their skin alone.
Now comes Los Angeles Times columnist Jean Guerrero, and others like her, claiming the American flag has become a symbol of white nationalism.
In a piece titled, “I’m officially reclaiming the U.S. flag from the fascists,” Guerrero expended many words lamenting that former President Donald Trump and Republicans have co-opted the flag and turned it into a symbol of racism.
“Long before I was called ‘anti-American’ (by devotees of the white demagogue [Trump]), you could say I was a kind of patriot. The flag inspired in me a sense of pride,” she wrote.
“Though Donald Trump lost reelection nearly two years ago, the marketing master left a mark on the flag. Many Latinos and other people he scapegoated still recoil upon seeing it. It has become a stand-in for the GOP’s white nationalist agenda,” Guerrero continued.
“How can we celebrate Independence Day, with its flags and belligerent displays of patriotism, when so many in our communities feel terrorized by such rituals?”
What exactly is Trump’s or the GOP’s white nationalist agenda?
Is Guerrero even aware of what’s happening in the nation politically? Trump garnered incredible Latino support in 2020, particularly in Florida and South Texas.
Note the American flags in this video from Miami on election night in November 2020.
Last month, Mayra Flores became the first Mexican-born woman ever elected to Congress, and she is a Republican.
She tweeted Wednesday, “I won my congressional race with faith, family, & [hard work]. The leftist media labels me an extremist because I am against their narrative & love this great country. No more false narratives.”
Two other Latinas in South Texas, Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia, secured the Republican nominations for their congressional districts for this fall’s elections.
Yesli Vega, the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, won her primary election in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District last month to become the GOP candidate.
Of course, last fall, Republican Winsome Sears became the first black woman to ever hold statewide office in Virginia, while voters also elected Jason Miyares attorney general, making him the first Latino statewide office holder.
And these are just some of the minorities filling the ranks of Republican candidates and office holders.
So if the flag has become a symbol of the GOP’s white nationalist agenda, neither these folks nor the people who elected them got the memo.
Having spent the Fourth in San Diego, I can add that I saw people of all races celebrating the holiday wearing clothing sporting the American flag while Old Glory flew by many parties and gatherings as music of all types played.
The truth is the Times’ Guerrero and others like her have bought into a false narrative.
The flag stands for what it has always stood for: the American ideals first expressed in the Declaration of Independence and later included in our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance — “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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