“We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city." DHS Head Kristi Noam responding to a question about military presence in California.

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17/17
Imagine on June 14th, a sea of American flags peacefully waving in protest to the Authoritarian who claims to be our President. Now, that finally makes sense to me.

16/17
That is why I now ask that every time we stand up against the rabid right, each of us should have grasped within our clenched fists the ultimate symbol that represents what we all are. We need to show the world that these colors tell our story today, not theirs.

15/17
The unwavering vigilance of poll workers and election volunteers who safeguard democracy, ensuring every citizen's voice is heard and counted fairly.

14/17
Chinese Americans who faced the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—the first federal law to ban immigration based on race—yet persisted in building communities, fighting for civil rights, and proving their belonging in America across generations of institutional discrimination.

13/17
The ultimate loyalty demonstrated by Japanese Americans who enlisted in the military, fighting for a country that had imprisoned their families without trial. Perseverance by indigenous activists who fought to protect sacred lands and treaty rights.

12/17
Blue: Vigilance, perseverance, and justice by investigative journalists who exposed corruption and government wrongdoing, from muckrakers who revealed unsafe working conditions. Loyalty and devotion, shown by teachers who fought to integrate schools.

11/17
White: Purity and innocence, reflected by abolitionists who fought to end slavery. Hope and righteousness by suffragettes who endured imprisonment to secure women's voting rights. Peace and unity, sought by labor organizers who created solidarity among all working people.

10/17
Red: Hardiness and valor, embodied by those who defeated the Nazi scourge across Europe. Courage and sacrifice by civil rights marchers and LGBTQ+ activists who resisted oppression at Stonewall. The blood shed by all who fought for freedom in both war and for what’s right at home.

9/17
We must take back what they have stolen, bit by bit. And that includes the American flag. Because this piece of cloth means so much more than what they want it to mean.

8/17
What does this mean, then, for you and me? Only one thing. There are no sidelines. The rabid right always needs an enemy. There are no bystanders in this struggle to keep democracy on track. We must all do our part in accordance with the standards of who we are and what we represent.

7/17
They have no time for empathy. No patience for grace. The engine propelling them is too loud, too polluted, and too stoked. They will violate the Constitution at their whim and re-ink its meaning with the blood and suffering of those they view as their foes…and that's you and me.

6/17
One side lusts for the infinite measure of annihilation while the other seeks modest advantage. Recent emerging realities have only cemented this truth: We are at war. The rabid right is on an offensive to claim conquest over power, culture, wealth, people, and ideas. They will not stop.

5/17
The rabid right regards the left with war in their hearts - whereas the left has been viewing the rabid right as mere political opponents. So far, our representatives have ignored the difference, but we need to harden our acceptance of this divergence:

4/17
Red, white, and blue hoisted on the back of a pickup truck or raised in a front yard doesn't feel like a celebration, but a confrontation. The flag has quickly become a device to "other" those I love. But I see things differently now. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "Fuck that."

3/17
In recent years, the American flag has taken on an even more ominous purpose. The rabid right have heisted American patriotism to slather it all over themselves. Venerated symbols of "E Pluribus Unum" (Out of Many, One) have now been corrupted into, "This is MY country, NOT yours."

2/17
And I know I'm not the only one who has felt this way, but rather I am one of a wide and varied swath of Americans who hold this view. After all, the aforementioned expression didn't invent itself.

1/17
My fellow Americans, I'm not one to attach my identity to any form of symbolism. I've viewed many who wave the American flag around as lazy patriots - those who have done so little to contribute to the betterment of this awesome experiment of democracy yet still "wrap themselves in the flag."