Mark Twain, as it turns out, was one smart cookie. “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it,” he famously said. Well, he famously purportedly said. But it jibes with his general take on the subject, so yeah, sure, why not: Twain said it. And he ’s right. Not only is he right, he perfectly distilled America then, and it holds true today. I say this a few days after I considered removing the American flag I have from outside my house. To be fair, I didn’t really “consider” it as much as I had a “passing thought” about it, and that passing thought was, “By flying the American flag, am I giving a tacit approval to the job President Donald Trump is doing?” Because, to be clear — and this isn’t exactly breaking news to anyone who has read me over the years — I wouldn’t count myself as a Trump fan. Not a MAGA guy, this guy. Do I agree with some of his positions? Sure. I’m not a moron. I can think for myself. But do I agree with him on most items? No. Do I like the way he handles himself, and by extension, how the world sees America? No. Do I wish we had a reasonable Republican — what the MAGA folks would charitably refer to as a RINO — in office instead? Yes. All to say this: I’m, at best, uneasy with the nation as it stands right now. And the flag — which has been part of my front yard since forever — sometimes takes on a different meaning. In fact, it’s pretty much taken on a different meaning ever since Trump first came down the escalator. In short: The MAGA crowd has more or less hijacked the flag. Seriously: If you see a pick up truck coming down the road with an American flag billowing from the back, are you thinking, “now there goes a Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supporter. There’s someone who’s down with gay rights. There’s someone who thinks not all immigrants are bad. There’s someone who thinks cozying up to Putin might not be in the best interests of our long-term health.” No, of course not. Whether you’re MAGA or not-MAGA, you see a flag on a pickup, you think, “There goes a MAGA.” I imagine this probably extends to front yards, at least to an extent. I imagine a certain segment of the population drives past my house, sees the American flag, and thinks, “Welp, I guess this guy supports Trump. Boo!” To which I say: STFU. Listen: The American flag is not the domain of the far-right. The American flag is the domain of all of us. I will not have my flag hijacked by anyone, nevermind a fellow citizen. I fly the flag — to paraphrase Twain, or not-Twain — because I support my country, not necessarily because I support my government. The flag is not, and should not be, a symbol of protest. It should be a symbol of … well, a symbol of America, and what America stands for, which, obviously, your mileage may vary. But I do know this: If everyone flew the flag on their plot of land, it would send a message to everyone. And that message is simply this: We support our country. It would take the politics out of the flag. To me, this is a no-brainer. So yes, I will continue, now and forever, to fly the flag of America. It is my right as a citizen, and I intend to use it. Listen: The American experiment isn’t perfect — hell, sometimes it’s barely functional — but it’s ours, all of ours, whether we’re wearing red hats or pink pussy hats. The stars and stripes have weathered civil wars, world wars, and culture wars. They’ll survive this too, whatever “this” is. So while the political pendulum swings back and forth like a metronome on crack, I’ll be out here, flag flying, reminding everyone who drives by that loving your country doesn’t mean checking your brain at the door. As Twain might have said (or not) (he didn’t, Samuel Johnson said the first half, the second half, no idea) “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, but it’s also the first duty of a citizen.” But I’ll tell you what: It sure sounds like something Twain would say after a few whiskeys, and that’s American enough for me. ...read more read less