OPINION/Maruca: The flag belongs to all 330 million of us

WEST BARNSTABLE – These are remarks made by West Barnstable Fire Chief Joe Maruca at the annual Flag Day event on June 14.

We are here today to honor our flag, and to honor what our flag means to each of us and what it stands for in today’s world, as well as in the foggy past of history. And we might even think a bit about the future and what we want or hope the flag will mean then.

I think the flag means something different to each generation – my flag is probably not my children’s flag. The meaning of our flag changes with time and changes with perspective, no matter how hard we wish for time and meaning to stand still.

It is difficult to pinpoint one meaning of our flag because we are 330 million individuals and each of us has our own thoughts on the flag and its meaning. The reality is that there are 330 million different meanings of the flag.

And, having the freedom for everyone to have their own thoughts about our flag, and the ability to express our thoughts on the subject, is one of the many things that make America great, it is also something that makes being an American more difficult than some other societies.

Some of this difficulty arises because we each seem programmed to think that our beliefs and opinions are the only correct beliefs and opinions. At least I find myself feeling this way at times. Imagine 330 million people all telling each other – “No I’m right and you’re wrong.”

Recently I told another fire chief that the next time someone waves an American flag in my face and tells me I’m not a good American (or some such nonsense), I might just poke them in the nose – of course, I won’t – I’ll smile and change the subject. I can accept that others have a different perspective than me. Or that they really don’t know who I am and what my life is about.

But it feels like these kinds of encounters have been more frequent or maybe just louder. It might also annoy me because I feel the same ownership and the same attachment to the flag as everyone else. It isn’t as if somehow the flag was on only their side and somehow against me.

These encounters should make us all think about change and perspective. The changes in people and the perspectives of time.

When I was a child in the 1960s, nobody would have worn the flag as part of their clothing. Way back then – a mere 60 years ago – it was considered un-American and disrespectful to wear the flag as part of your clothing. My school’s dress code forbid wearing the flag. Today, the flag is a common element of people’s summer wear.

More:Thousands of flags placed on vets' graves

Today, I still don’t wear the flag as part of my summer wear. Some people, surprisingly, find that unpatriotic or something. I just have a different perspective, but I’m no more or less devoted to America and to serving my community than anyone else.

And the more I think about it, the more I think about how challenging it is to be the American flag – its one job is to unify and represent 330 million people. It’s 330 million different opinions – it's staggering when you think about it.

It’s not easy to represent and unify 330 million people, but when you look, our flag and its history — it is built for success.

Think about the symbolism of 13 red stripes, 13 white ones and 50 stars on a blue background — there’s a lot going on here. And it’s changed as the country has changed. We’ve been adding stars — adding more people and more opinions — throughout our history. In my lifetime, the flag went from 48 to 50 stars. We are growing and changing, and our flag grows and changes with us.

That’s a good start for trying to unify 330 million people. It’s telling us change is OK.

More:Lack of worker housing increasingly puts squeeze on Cape Cod businesses

When it’s time to retire a flag, one way to properly dispose of the flag is to cut it into its various parts. Remove the stars and separate the stripes – the opposite of unifying. An intentional symbolism from wise leaders of the past or – a coincidence that seems to fit its role? I don’t know, but it’s certainly something I’ve been pondering for a few days now.

As we celebrate Flag Day 2022 and honor our American flag, let’s all remember that every American can fly this flag with pride – it belongs to all of us - equally. None of us has a monopoly on what the flag means. Fly your flag with pride. Put the flag sticker on your car window or the pane of glass on your porch door.

More:Oak Bluffs Select Board and NAACP clash over flying of Juneteenth flag

Remember the flag simultaneously belongs to all of us and to each of us.

Then think, what might be the one unifying message that our flag says to all of us? I think it might say despite all the noise and all the drama that fills our world — it’s good to be an American.

Happy Flag Day.

Joe Maruca is chief of the West Barnstable Fire Department.