A flag should reflect who we are, not who we were
Two Republican candidates for governor are making a political issue of efforts to redesign the state flag, trotting out the tired meme of cancel culture and claiming that a new flag would erase history (“GOP hopefuls see an opening with state flag,” Page A1, Sept. 19). A state flag is an expression not of who we were but rather of who we are. Do we wish to continue presenting ourselves as a state that celebrates the subjugation of Indigenous peoples? Is it not better to be a state that honors the culture that was indeed erased by European predecessors?
Candidates for office need to give us ideas and solutions, not worn-out talking points.
David Gable
Mashpee
Don’t GOP gubernatorial hopefuls have more important issues to raise?
Is the possibility of changing the state flag the most critical issue facing us here in Massachusetts? That the leading GOP candidates for governor believe it is shows how out of touch with reality the party has become.
The rest of us? We’d probably put things like the cost of groceries and housing at the top of our lists.
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David Valade
Melrose
Progressives should be outraged by flag redesign process
This year tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents have attended rallies to protest the policies of the Trump administration and associated democratic backsliding. However, when it comes to illiberalism at home, particularly as it pertains to the process surrounding the redesign of our flag, seal, and motto, we hear relatively little from those on the left.
Some may think this is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Still, there is something disconcerting about the prospect of an unpopular decision made by an unelected committee being forced upon the Commonwealth’s residents. One need only look at comment sections on Instagram, X, and Reddit posts on the matter or even the comment section on a story last month in the Globe (“Flag choices narrowed; some waived,” Metro, Aug. 29).
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Even among those in favor of changing our current flag, there seems to be a general lack of enthusiasm about the three “top selections” released by the Massachusetts Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission. Following modern vexillological guidelines, they are bland and nondescript. Submissions inspired by our current or former flags were overlooked by the commission.
Matters of taste and historical considerations aside, residents of the Commonwealth should be outraged by this process, which should have been put to a vote.
Anneke Butkus
Somerville
Hmm, ho-hum. But now that you ask …
During the Vietnam War US river patrol boats on the Bassac and Mekong rivers used to fly crew members’ choice of state flags as some sort of flex of muscle. I always thought the Massachusetts flag looked a little surrender-y.
I don’t care much about the current flag or the proposed flag designs, but some do care — or pretend to care — so I’ll opine. Of the proposals, I’d choose the red one with feathers, since it’s pretty and a bit Emily Dickinson — and unobjectionable unless you can’t distinguish cranberry red from communist red or feathers from sickles. So, carry on.
Kevin Curtis
Waltham