I agree with you on the flag thing. I live in Canada, where the flag has never been omnipresent. Most people don't have a flag on their private property and it's often been something that Canadians mock about America. I think most Canadians have found overt patriotism kind of ugly. That has changed over the last few years. Although not as visible, Canada has a serious white supremacy problem. Some of that really came to a head a few years ago with a convoy that traveled across the country and occupied our capital, Ottawa for several weeks. Those folks flew a lot of flags to the point where a lot of Canadians doubled down on their negative feelings around flag waving. But now, that has changed again with Trump's threats to our sovereignty. All of a sudden more people want to display a flag and reclaim it from the right wing bigots club. I'll be curious to see where this goes over the next several years.
I can’t say I know a whole lot about the whole deregulation thing. I was actually a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines when that was happening and I can say this for sure… Flying used to be a HELL of a lot more pleasant than the painful bullshit the airlines now put us through.
One of the first things that Reagan did when he took office was to remove the solar panels that Carter had installed on the White House. They were too much of a symbol of Democrats for Reagan to be able to stomach them. They worked just fine.
Thanks Geoffrey. I haven't traveled the world much. I went skiing in Europe way back in 1973 or 1974. I've made shallow excursions into Canada and Mexico. That's it. But when I have asked friends who traveled, and occasionally there has been something written about it, the United States seems to be the only country with all this flag waving and national anthem singing. To me it really feels like a FU to the rest of the world. So thanks for your note, and what a shame that Trump has managed to turn our staunched ally against us. Who even knew that that could happen?
I'm sure most Canadians and most Americans understand that their government aren't their people. I've been to America a lot, I have lots of American friends and I love America. But I haven't loved an American or a Canadian government ever in my lifetime. And I'm 61 so that's not great! Trump is awful but decades of terrible governance BOTH parties shoulders a lot of the blame for that. And same goes for us. We haven't had the same brush with fascism as you are experiencing but there has not been a government here in my lifetime that has made meaningful movements in racism, inequality and other areas of social justice. It's wildly frustrating 😢🤬
Thanks much for that note Geoff. I cannot honestly say that I know a whole bunch about the Canadian government. The Canadian reputation, of course, is different than what you just described. I’ve been around for 75 years and there have been administrations that I clearly liked way more than other administrations. Jimmy Carter was a genuinely Extremely decent individual. But the second time around, I voted for Reagan. That just shows you how much of an idiot I am. But I agree wholeheartedly with you that Trump didn’t just emerge on the scene magically and all of a sudden. We had been building towards him for years. Back around maybe 1980 I voted for a strong third party candidate. His last name was Anderson. I can no longer recall his first name. He did well and that scared the two major parties so they made rules so that a third-party candidate could not participate in debates. That killed the whole third-party thing. and now… Here we are.
For some time now, I have been a really strong believer that the number one taproot of all our problems is gross wealth/income inequality. I honestly feel that if we shrunk that inequality significantly a lot of other problems including climate change and the various "isms" would also shrink dramatically. I think racism and inequality are particularly tightly entwined.
Jimmy Carter was definitely one of your best. A truly decent man. But did you know that he started the whole deregulation trend? That didn't turn out so well. And yeah, Reagan. When I was 20 years old I hitchhiked from British Columbia to my home in Nova Scotia to vote for Brian Mulroney. He was our prime minister who was famous for singing "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" with Reagan and birthing NAFTA. The free trade agreement that created your rust belt. So I feel you on bad choices from our past 🤣.
I love how you've shared so many wonderful photos and again your take on how our flag belongs to all of us!
In ruby red Chardon located in ruby red Geauga Country, there were lots of flags where 400 people turned out, twice the number of Hands Off, in the rain at that. Unfortunately, I can't share a photo in the comments here--
Great post - exciting so many people care and are excited to get out and demonstrate their support for our democracy and opposition to the racism, classism, sexism, ableism and hatred for any who are not white, christian and conservative. I attended the parade in Denver, which was huge - still waiting for confirmation of crowd numbers - it was much larger than the Hands off protest in April, which was estimated at 8,000. Lots of energy, enthusiasm and even joy. Inspiring to join with fellow travelers who share concerns, love for freedom, and opposition to Trump’s fascist project.
I agree with you on the flag thing. I live in Canada, where the flag has never been omnipresent. Most people don't have a flag on their private property and it's often been something that Canadians mock about America. I think most Canadians have found overt patriotism kind of ugly. That has changed over the last few years. Although not as visible, Canada has a serious white supremacy problem. Some of that really came to a head a few years ago with a convoy that traveled across the country and occupied our capital, Ottawa for several weeks. Those folks flew a lot of flags to the point where a lot of Canadians doubled down on their negative feelings around flag waving. But now, that has changed again with Trump's threats to our sovereignty. All of a sudden more people want to display a flag and reclaim it from the right wing bigots club. I'll be curious to see where this goes over the next several years.
I can’t say I know a whole lot about the whole deregulation thing. I was actually a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines when that was happening and I can say this for sure… Flying used to be a HELL of a lot more pleasant than the painful bullshit the airlines now put us through.
One of the first things that Reagan did when he took office was to remove the solar panels that Carter had installed on the White House. They were too much of a symbol of Democrats for Reagan to be able to stomach them. They worked just fine.
Thanks Geoffrey. I haven't traveled the world much. I went skiing in Europe way back in 1973 or 1974. I've made shallow excursions into Canada and Mexico. That's it. But when I have asked friends who traveled, and occasionally there has been something written about it, the United States seems to be the only country with all this flag waving and national anthem singing. To me it really feels like a FU to the rest of the world. So thanks for your note, and what a shame that Trump has managed to turn our staunched ally against us. Who even knew that that could happen?
I'm sure most Canadians and most Americans understand that their government aren't their people. I've been to America a lot, I have lots of American friends and I love America. But I haven't loved an American or a Canadian government ever in my lifetime. And I'm 61 so that's not great! Trump is awful but decades of terrible governance BOTH parties shoulders a lot of the blame for that. And same goes for us. We haven't had the same brush with fascism as you are experiencing but there has not been a government here in my lifetime that has made meaningful movements in racism, inequality and other areas of social justice. It's wildly frustrating 😢🤬
Thanks much for that note Geoff. I cannot honestly say that I know a whole bunch about the Canadian government. The Canadian reputation, of course, is different than what you just described. I’ve been around for 75 years and there have been administrations that I clearly liked way more than other administrations. Jimmy Carter was a genuinely Extremely decent individual. But the second time around, I voted for Reagan. That just shows you how much of an idiot I am. But I agree wholeheartedly with you that Trump didn’t just emerge on the scene magically and all of a sudden. We had been building towards him for years. Back around maybe 1980 I voted for a strong third party candidate. His last name was Anderson. I can no longer recall his first name. He did well and that scared the two major parties so they made rules so that a third-party candidate could not participate in debates. That killed the whole third-party thing. and now… Here we are.
For some time now, I have been a really strong believer that the number one taproot of all our problems is gross wealth/income inequality. I honestly feel that if we shrunk that inequality significantly a lot of other problems including climate change and the various "isms" would also shrink dramatically. I think racism and inequality are particularly tightly entwined.
Jimmy Carter was definitely one of your best. A truly decent man. But did you know that he started the whole deregulation trend? That didn't turn out so well. And yeah, Reagan. When I was 20 years old I hitchhiked from British Columbia to my home in Nova Scotia to vote for Brian Mulroney. He was our prime minister who was famous for singing "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" with Reagan and birthing NAFTA. The free trade agreement that created your rust belt. So I feel you on bad choices from our past 🤣.
Wayne,
I love how you've shared so many wonderful photos and again your take on how our flag belongs to all of us!
In ruby red Chardon located in ruby red Geauga Country, there were lots of flags where 400 people turned out, twice the number of Hands Off, in the rain at that. Unfortunately, I can't share a photo in the comments here--
much gratitude to you for all your writing--
Thanks Lani. Always a bright spot when you show up in my email or post...or door step!
Great post - exciting so many people care and are excited to get out and demonstrate their support for our democracy and opposition to the racism, classism, sexism, ableism and hatred for any who are not white, christian and conservative. I attended the parade in Denver, which was huge - still waiting for confirmation of crowd numbers - it was much larger than the Hands off protest in April, which was estimated at 8,000. Lots of energy, enthusiasm and even joy. Inspiring to join with fellow travelers who share concerns, love for freedom, and opposition to Trump’s fascist project.
Nice note. Inspirational even. Thank you Greg.