The Flag Belongs to All of Us
The first time I remember truly noticing the American flag, I was a kid returning to the United States after living overseas. Our family had been in the UK for a few years, and as the plane touched down, I looked out the window and saw the flag flying at the edge of the runway. I remember it flying atop a white flagpole against the clear blue sky. I was 11 years old, and I knew it meant something. Even though I didn’t have the words for it yet, I felt proud. I felt home.
That’s what the flag can do. At its best, it reminds us that we’re part of something bigger. That we belong. That this country, no matter how messy our politics or how unfinished our story, is still ours to belong to and build.
But today, the American flag has been turned into something else. The flag has been turned into a political symbol, a brand used to bully those who disagree. Instead of the emblem that welcomed me home, it’s been turned into something exclusive. By the design of political leaders, it’s become something that only represents one side of the political spectrum. We see it flown at rallies that reject election results, waved in crowds that call other Americans the enemy. But that’s not what the flag stands for. It was never meant to divide us. Rather, it is meant to unite us in a shared commitment to freedom, self-government, and equal dignity.
What veterans like me know is that the flag doesn’t belong to one party. It belongs to all of us.
On Flag Day, we’re reminded that the flag is not a cheap prop of one political movement. It’s a symbol of a country that’s always been in motion, always striving, struggling, fighting to get closer to its ideals. The flag has always stood for progress, for the belief that we can make this country better.
In fact, the American flag was born as a uniquely revolutionary item, carried into battle by people who believed in a different kind of future: a future built on liberty, justice, and self-government.
The ideals that pushed the thirteen colonies to declare independence were grounded in the belief that a free people could best govern themselves and care for one another.
And while we haven’t always lived up to our ideals, that spirit of a country built on shared freedom didn’t die with the Revolution. It showed up at Gettysburg, when Americans gave their lives to preserve the Constitution and end slavery. It landed in Europe, stitched to the sleeves of soldiers who helped defeat fascism. It marched across the South, carried by Americans who demanded civil rights and equal protection under the law.
It still shows up today. In Los Angeles, communities are protesting in response to a federal decision to override the governor and deploy National Guard troops against them. These protests aren’t a break from American tradition - they are part of it. The right to speak out, to assemble, to challenge injustice; these are not acts of defiance against America, they are expressions of belief in it. The flag has flown over movements for labor rights, civil rights, and voting rights. It belongs just as much to those marching in the streets as it does to those in uniform. When people carry the flag in protest, they are not rejecting this country, they are insisting it live up to its promise.
That’s the flag I wore on my uniform when I served in Iraq. I served with people who didn’t look like me, didn’t pray like me, and didn’t vote like me. But we shared something. We believed in the oath we took to the Constitution. That oath was to the ideals represented in the flag, not to any one leader or party. We believed that America is stronger when it lives up to its promises.
The flag is not a weapon to be turned against fellow Americans. It’s not a prize to be claimed by whichever side shouts the loudest. It is a reminder of what binds us together: freedom, belonging, and the belief that every person counts.
It belongs to the teacher leading her class in the Pledge, the civil servant guarding our elections, the small business owner opening a shop, the nurse working a 12-hour shift, the refugee taking the oath of citizenship, and the veteran speaking up for the country she swore to defend. It belongs to every American who believes this country can be better and is willing to help make it so.
Patriotism isn’t about performance. It’s about participation. It’s not just wearing a pin or flying a banner. It’s about showing up for your neighbors, your country, and the principles we say we believe in.
So on this Flag Day, fly the American flag with pride. Not as a signal of division or domination, but as a reminder of the country we believe in. One built on freedom, equality, and the duty we owe each other. Not fear. Not exclusion. Not a party.
The American flag is a promise - not that we’ve arrived, but that we keep striving. It’s the thread that runs through every generation that has worked, served, spoken out, or stood up for something better. That promise belongs to all of us and it’s ours to keep.
There’s a quiet kind of patriotism that doesn’t need to shout. It lives in the moments we feel rooted, welcomed, connected to something larger than ourselves. That’s what the flag meant to me then, and still does now. Not a claim to power, but a call to serve. A symbol not of what we are, but of what we’re still trying to become.
Chris Purdy is the founder and CEO of The Chamberlain Network, an organization that empowers veterans to defend democracy in their communities He served in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2012.
