Theres a famine of compassion
Midnight Oil
When we moved into our new house, the small piece of hardware mounted next to the garage door caught my eye. It was similar to the one on my childhood porch, where our family hung the flag on holidays. That changed when Iranian militants took Americans hostage in 1979. Some families tied yellow ribbons around trees; our family flew the flag to show solidarity with those in harms way.
I carried that tradition forward with my children. After 9/11, we flew our flag daily as the nation worked through its grief. For a while, it hung alongside the Gadsden flag Dont Tread on Me felt like the right message for a country determined not to bow to terror.
As the months wore on, our Old Glory faded in the California sun and was replaced with a new one. My kids learned flag etiquette as we respectfully retired it in flames, a ritual of honor and respect.
Those memories now sadden me as I look at the hardware attached to my new house. The second Trump presidency has shaken my belief in what the flag represents. Trump proved in his first term that he had no allegiance to the Founders promise that all men are created equal. His actions on January 6, 2021, showed that his own power mattered more than the foundations of our democracy. Yet a plurality of my fellow Americans ignored, or even embraced, this and sent him back to the White House.
It is hard to feel patriotic watching immigrants, people who came here willing to work hard for a better life, being violently swept off the streets. It is harder still to watch the Supreme Court shrug as Trump's agents question people based on the color of their skin, the type of work they do, or the thickness of their accent. Should there even be a place in this world for a country that can not find compassion for a child battling cancer?
The flag should unite all Americans, but the MAGA movement has twisted it into a banner of allegiance to one man. Even worse, patriotism itself has been redefined no longer pride in country, but submission to Trump.
The debasement continues. Last month, Trump ordered the flag flown at half-mast to honor a man who had said the passage of the Civil Rights Act was a huge mistake, called on an amazing patriot to bail out the person who viciously attacked Paul Pelosi, and called George Floyd, who died at the hands of the police, a "scumbag.
If this lowering of the flag had honored all victims of violence, I would have welcomed it. However, this would not be feasible given the Republican Party's refusal to do anything meaningful about the problem; the flag would never make it more than halfway up the flagpole if each violent death were honored.
A statement against political violence would have also been welcomed -- about three months ago, when two members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were shot. Melissa Anne Horman, along with her husband, died of their injuries.
Instead, Trump used the lowering of our flag to elevate a figure who promoted bigotry against the LGBTQ+ community, blacks, and women.
So while I will continue to do my patriotic duty by resisting the path Trump and his MAGA supporters have set us on, I cannot raise a flag that has been twisted into a symbol of intolerance and blind loyalty to one man. Patriotism should never be about submission to power. Instead, it should be about striving toward justice, equality, and compassion for all.
Rather than fly a banner that now divides, I am seeking a symbol that reflects the America I believe in: one that welcomes the stranger, protects the vulnerable, and honors the dignity of every person. That is the patriotism I claim and the vision of America I will continue to fight for. Perhaps something like this:
Dr. Diane Ravitch has recognized education advocate Carl Petersen as a valiant fighter for public schools. A former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board, Petersen is a passionate voice for special education, shaped by raising two daughters with severe autism. He recently relocated to the State of Washington to embrace his role as Poppy to two grandsons. Explore more at www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com.
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