Bumper Stickers

There was a time that the Stars and Stripes and the Confederate flag represented very different ideals, at least in the minds of their followers. Both icons have gathered up so much legend and have had stereotypical auras constructed around them that nowadays the mere sight of them can invoke strong guttural feelings. And more often than not, the adherents of one banner’s ideal sees himself at odds, or worse, with his counterpart and that other standard. But when these flags are stuck on the back of a pick-up truck I struggle to see the distinction.

I don’t remember seeing that many American flag bumper stickers prior to 9-11. There was the odd ‘love it or leave it’ slogan or a veteran-related message, but by and large Old Glory was severely outnumbered by classics like ‘shit happens’. Following the upswing in patriotism since the attack on the homeland, the number of flag bumper stickers has risen exponentially. People want to show their support for our country and for the troops that have been put in harm’s way to prevent another tragedy from occurring. But the longer that our men and women remain overseas planting the seeds of freedom and democracy making fun of Iraqi detainees’ genitals, the folks’ attitudes back home continue to change.

From what were initially feelings of brotherliness and unity in despair, quickly evolved into anger and hostility. The latter emotions still linger but have been tinged with a proud black and white world view of Us vs. Them. You’re either an American or you’re a Foreigner (and if you’re an American immigrant, well I don’t know how to feel about that but I’ll keep my eye on you). Whenever I now see a U.S. flag on the back of a pick-up truck I wonder why that person feels such a need to defend his worldview. Slapping an adhesive plastic label on your truck is a pretty feeble attempt at this, I admit. Nevertheless, this is exactly what s happening. The flag has come to represent not our country’s democratic ideals but a xenophobic outburst of superiority and isolation. Most trucks that have a flag bumper sticker have at least one additional sticker. Since I have never seen a sticker arguing for the separation of church and state or for the need for independently appointed redistricting committees next to the American flag on the back of a Chevy, I conclude that I am correct in this assertion. Instead, next to our Stars and Stripes are charming phrases such as, ‘your heart may belong to Allah, but your ass belongs to George W.’.

So when you think about the rage, closed-mindedness, supremacy, and conservative values that generally pop into most peoples’ mind when they think about the Confederate flag, take a closer look at the bumper sticker on that pick-up truck. There are a lot more stars than there used to be.