Steve Hagerty: The flag belongs to all of us

On Veterans Day, we will gather to honor those who have served this country. At the ceremony, we will sing the National Anthem and then recite the Pledge of Allegiance. For a few moments, people with different backgrounds, beliefs and politics will face the same flag and speak the same words. The pledge will remind us why we have gathered and that we belong to one country. It could do the same at our City Council meetings. Most communities in the Northwest Municipal Conference include the pledge in the opening proceedings of their governing meetings. Highland Park does. So do Skokie, Wilmette, Winnetka, Niles and Northbrook. But not Evanston. It’s not our practice. Why not? In a divided country, opportunities to affirm something shared are worth taking. Before debating a development, approving a budget or hearing public comment, a council could pause to remember the larger commitment everyone in the room shares. Saying the pledge together could set the tone for what follows, reminding everyone of the common purpose that exists between us. Children recite it in classrooms. Scouts say it at their meetings. Members of Congress say it before beginning their daily business. At sporting events, the national anthem creates a similar moment, drawing people’s attention to the flag before the game begins. Surely there is a place for such a moment in the room where a community governs itself. Yet the American flag has become uncomfortable territory for some Americans. A flag on a porch or a pickup truck can prompt assumptions about the politics of the person displaying it. Some people hesitate to fly one because they worry about the message it might send. After Sept. 11, a former Evanston colleague’s parents bought a flag for their home. They believed it belonged to the entire country and worried that unless everyone claimed it, others would decide what it meant. Twenty-five years later, they still display that same flag. No president, party or movement owns the American flag. It belongs as much to the person protesting a government decision as to the person defending it. Both have a stake in the republic for which it stands. The pledge makes that commitment explicit: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Consider those last six words. “With liberty and justice for all.” They ask something of everyone who says them. They give citizens a standard against which to judge their government, and public officials a promise to carry into their work. The country has fallen short of those words. It still does. Saying them together can remind us of the work that remains. Some object to the words “under God.” Others have different reasons for declining to recite the pledge. Participation should be voluntary, and anyone who remains silent should feel equally welcome. There is room for both a shared civic tradition and individual freedom of conscience. But let’s not pass up an opportunity to affirm what belongs to all of us. If America is to begin healing, communities can help by making room for moments of shared purpose. Evanston should display the American flag prominently in its council chambers and invite everyone to recite the pledge at the beginning of each meeting. Other communities ought to do the same. On Veterans Day, we will thank those who have served. When the ceremony ends, the promise we recited should carry into the work of governing. The flag belongs to all of us. So does the responsibility for what it stands for. Related Stories