I began my long-time interest in photographing the American flag while spending three months in Vermont in the early 1970s. As I wandered around Vermont and other New England states, I was struck by the number and variety of American flags that were displayed — all without a hint of jingoism. Flags were flown naturally and sincerely in appreciation of our country and its revolutionary history in that part of the country.
Throughout the years, I’ve seen flags all over the country, sometimes in the least likely of places, and probably in conflict with proper flag protocols. Sometimes the flag is a symbol which unites us, and other times it’s meant to divide us in a contest to show who are the “most patriotic” Americans.
It’s everyone’s flag. It’s not a conservative or liberal flag. It’s a symbol of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights and all of the amendments. It’s a beautiful flag. Honor what it stands for; don’t hide behind it.
This is an American flag. It’s not “your” flag and it’s not “my” flag.
A few days after 9/11, I saw a flag in Naperville, Illinois, where the giant American flag hung as a backdrop to hundreds of smaller flags. As I drove back home to Marin, I encountered numerous flags as American citizens expressed their unity. From a barn to the Great Salt Lake, flags seemed to be everywhere in Utah and all across the country.
How ironic that it took a great tragedy to unite our country.
I made a detour to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a few years after 9/11 and photographed the memorials that commemorated United Airlines Flight 93 and its passengers and crew, after the plane crashed into a nearby field in eastern Pennsylvania during 9/11.
From small towns to the Grand Central Terminal in New York City, Americans everywhere proudly display the flag.
This is a period in our nation’s life in which we are more divided than usual and, as it has many times in the past, the American flag has become a symbol of that division, not unification. I want to change that.
Voting is an honor, a privilege and a duty. Don’t sit out this election.
Zeny Cieslikowski is a Corte Madera resident and photographer.
