Some musings about the 20th anniversary of 9-11, Jan. 6, and July 4 this year.
Past and Present
In 2012, when I started researching my grandparents’ pre-war apartment building in Brno, Czech Republic, I thought I was just going to be learning about the past. I was mainly hoping to discover more about my ancestors. In fact, I also began to gain more perspective on the events now.
As I write this today, September 18, 2021, the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court in Washington, DC have been surrounded by fences, the National Guard is on standby, and the DC Police and local police forces outside of Washington have joined with the U.S. Capitol Police to defend against a group of American citizens who are coming to rally in “support” of the insurrectionists of Jan. 6. What crazy and turbulent times we live in.
On Jan. 6, American and Confederate flags were flown by a mostly white mob who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of our 2020 presidential election. Members of the mob even used American flags to beat police officers in this attempted coup of the United States government. On that day, when such an assault on our government by fellow citizens was allowed to continue for hours, I could not recognize my country.
My Parents
Every time I see an American flag I think about my parents. Both were naturalized Americans of Jewish descent who fled persecution in Central Europe during World War II. They loved America and never missed voting in an election. My mother had a special reverence for our flag, and would react with horror if she saw one that looked frayed or was allowed to touch the ground. A desecration, she felt.
Patriotism vs. Nationalism
Yet my parents never flew the flag. They worried that fervent patriotism, sometimes reflected in the private use of a country’s flag, was too close to nationalism. They knew first hand that nationalism in its extreme is manifested in hatred of the ‘other.’ Besides, symbols such as flags, like slogans, are easy. They do not require much effort—and can be misused.
July 4
My husband Don and I spent the July 4 weekend with family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Our new abode there has an American flag purchased by the previous owner. Don and his son, descended from generations of Americans, flew the flag outside the front door in honor of this national holiday. I doubt they were thinking much about this act except as a sign of patriotism.
But while the flag was flying outside our house, my late parents were constantly in my thoughts, and I could not shake a feeling of unease.
Another Immigrant’s Perspective
Then, in August, I saw a clip from a television interview with Ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman about his book, Here, Right Matters: An American Story. Lt. Col. Vindman was born in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the U.S. at age 3 with his family. He is a decorated war veteran and an expert in Ukraine and Russia. He testified before the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2019 during the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
During this interview last month on “The View,” in which he was wearing an American flag pin, he was asked about his reaction to the July 27, 2021 testimony of four police officers before the U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack. Here is part of what he said.
"What a terrible event for our country... And what a terrible event for the officers," he said. "This flag I wear on my shoulder is something that I have worn for every appearance… My goal is to reclaim this for a symbol of unity and… the things that bring us together. The common shared experience of immigrants. The common shared experience of people that cherish public servants and that cherish those that look to do things that are bigger than themselves, that look to contribute to this nation as a whole."
It was heartening to consider how some display the flag to reassert its original symbol of unity and democracy rather than just for show.
9-11
After September 11, 2001, I remember seeing American flags flying everywhere—even from cars. As if to remind ourselves, with this symbol of the great American experiment, who we are and that we will prevail even against such a devastating assault from without.
The Past Again
Last weekend Don and I went for a walk along Carroll Creek Canal in Frederick, Maryland. Frederick is located about 45 minutes west of Washington, DC, and has a rich history dating back to its founding in 1745, and including the Civil War. During our walk on that pleasantly warm September day, along the waterway that runs through the town, we came upon The Barbara Fritchie House, a historic landmark and part of the Civil War
Legend has it that in September 1862, after the Confederate army crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, and Stonewall Jackson, the Confederate general, marched with his troups past this house in Frederick, he ordered all Union flags taken down. Although a rifle shot from one of his soldiers broke the staff from which the Union flag was flying in front of her house, 95 year old Barbara Fritchie rescued her flag. According to a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1863, she then waved it outside her attic widow at the rebels marching by, and said, “Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country’s flag.”
Both Barbara Fritchie and her flag were spared, according to the poem, because the Confederate general who was fighting for southern slave states to secede from the Union, was shamed by her remarks. Such a story as hers of fighting for what’s right inspires and not just within our borders. In 1943, during World War II, Franklin Roosevelt escorted Winston Churchill to this landmark. Churchill, a legend himself for heroically fighting the tyranny of the Nazis, and a source of inspiration and hope to those who would fight the enemies of freedom now, apparently knew the story of Barbara Fritchie and quoted the poem on site by heart.
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