FLAG WARS: When Burning Symbols, Alarming Art, Patriotic Condoms, and Disloyal Women Pissed Off the Nation

by Louise Krasniewicz

When president-elect Donald Trump tweeted that flag burners should go to jail or lose their citizenship, he was rejuvenating an almost-dormant American controversy: the flag burnings and culture wars of the late 20th century. While flag burning was settled law (the Supreme Court ruled it was free speech), that didn't seem to matter to the new president. What happened during the culture wars and flag controversies of the last century that helps put this threat, and indeed all of Trump's campaign, into context? This book provides that context through its analysis of the cultural underpinnings of the flag controversy the fascinated the country in the 1980s and 90s, and the continuity with ones that are cropping up today. It is not just that flag waving was then and is now seen as a sign of fervent patriotism, but that it foregrounds the loyalty and unquestioned value of the male military veteran. This equation of the flag with the veteran was the ruling theme of the previous culture wars and promises to be repeated today. As Trump ramps up his attacks on protesters, dissenters, and even the American judiciary, these flag wars from the past will provide a template for what to expect in these cultural wars of the present.

243 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 10, 2017