While photographing the last couple of presidential campaigns, I noticed gigantic flags at rallies. They struck me as fitting to those occasions. But I think they’re overdone.
Barack Obama started out his first campaign wearing no flags on his lapel. He received criticism for the omission. Afterwards he always sported a tiny flag. I’m not offended if a candidate sometimes does not wear a flag.
Last month I noticed a gigantic American flag fluttering across the lane of a highway near Boston. An auto dealership was located there. Their commercialization of patriotism turned me off.
Lots of Americans, I suspect, pay attention to how their fellow citizens present the flag. They understand that the stars and stripes are a symbol—a powerful one—that promotes social cohesion.
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