Country in Distress

There is this house near where I work that flies an American flag. Well, actually there are several houses that do that, but the one I'm talking about is unique. I first noticed it because the flag was not only faded and old, but also upside down. I had recently read a book in which the characters used an upside down flag as a universal distress signal. I thought the people must be thumbing their noses at our country. It seemed to me to be a mixture of rebellion and disrespect. But then, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that they had put up a new flag, but it was still upside down. That led me to change my opinion and think that the folks in that house must be patriotic about America, but very concerned about our current government. I guess that's pretty much how I feel, too.

Dar Williams said it best in her song, Anthem: "I am an American./From the fourth grade turkey pageant to the protest march I stand./I am an American./I know there's blood in the pavement and we've turned the fields to sand./Hey I know where I come from, but I have a question,/Shall we the people never come home?/For after all that we've been are the dreams to come after. "