The people behind the American flag flying upside-down in 2021
I didn't know it until this year, but a flag flying upside down is a signal of dire distress, like doing S.O.S. on a telegraph, or shouting "Mayday!" into a microphone of a plane. It's an extreme call for help. And as the upside-down flags kept flying in my little suburban neighborhood, day after day, with no answer, I started to think about the people behind those flags. And if you have no sympathy for those people, I'd like to see if I can change your mind. I have a background in advertising, and teaching, and I'd like to believe those things have made me a good persuader. Maybe not, it's up to you!
We have to start with something called a "premise". If you were to say, for example, "the greatest rock-and-roll band of all time is the Rolling Stones!", I would have a choice, before we moved on with finer details of discussion, as to whether I accepted the premise or not. If I simply said, "The Beatles!" and your answer was, "The Stones!" the discussion would stay there, and we would never move forward, ending only when someone says, "Ah, you're ugly and your mom dresses you funny!" I've never had an interest in that, which is commonly called a "Flame War" on social media. I also call it "kittens fighting", and it makes me sad.
So if you're still with me on the logic here, the basic premise has to do with information. For many people, the information that someone like me relies on, mainstream media, is completely artificial. That is, all of the information is fake news. You may have heard that expression, which became popular a few years ago. And it's at that point that the world's most boring arguments begin: "Article in a newspaper!" "Fake news!"
Once someone has turned off all the information from mainstream media, the next step is a very logical one. Human nature being what it is, people need information, and there's plenty of it, both on the internet, and shared between like-minded people. I created an account on an app that these people went to when they were dissatisfied with mainstream apps, and it really tugged at my heart strings. Social media like that tends to be an "echo chamber", with things being repeated over and over. There's also a tricky kind of "sing-song" language there, with special nicknames that you have to learn in order to follow it. Luckily, I could use the internet to do the same thing I do with stuff I don't understand from young people - I look it up.
So my heart does go out to the people who are in great despair nowadays, and I'm sad that I can't help them. My confident attitude seems to be a bit sinister to these people, who are always quick to say, "Ah ha! That's what I thought! That's what they want me to think!" My credentials as a former college teacher just seems to make it worse. It was only computer graphics, but it's enough for some people to say, "Ah ha! He's one of THEM!"
I don't expect everyone to think exactly the way that I do - in fact that would be very boring for me. I like people who have different viewpoints, different cultures, different languages. I love learning, and I hope to be able to do it for the rest of my life. I've known many people, from saints to sinners, and to me they're all the same. I've known to keep some people at arm's length - and nowaday at least six feet away from me, but I would never turn my back on them. I may not agree with what you say, but this is the United States of America, and I'll defend your right to say it.
By the way, I'm going with the Beatles myself!
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I like your last sentence. "I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend your right to say it." And I like the Beatles over the Stones, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celeste! I have to admit to being very sad when I sat down to write this, but sharing it made me feel better. Thank you for taking a look! And agreeing on a premise is so very, very important to me - I would find it disconcerting if someone said, "The Beatles never existed!" I would probably just wander off and think that "yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..."
ReplyDeleteI understand it but I would not do it. I’ve not heard much about all of the American flag burnings. I wouldn’t do that either.
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