With Liberty and Justice for All

Public display of the U.S flag is not uncommon. We expect to see it in a variety public settings. But what compels individuals, ordinary citizens, to display the flag: in a window, in front of a house, on clothing, on a car? Are these really private displays that just happen to share spaces that are at times public?

There are of course obvious motivations for these displays of the flag: patriotism, nationalism, solidarity. But over the past decade the flag has come to represent many different things to different people. For some it provides a buffer of protection, for others it represents a different time lost to history, or an over abundance of false promises and for yet others it serves as a warning.

David W. Sumner San Francisco, 2013