Like millions of American patriots, I’ll attend a No Kings protest tomorrow.
Here’s what I’m bringing:
There’s nothing more patriotically American than peaceful protest; show it.
Some friends and I brought these last time and they were a big hit; so many people wanted to express their love of country but hadn’t thought to bring their own. We easily gave them all away long before the protest ended. On our backpack we attached this “Grab a Flag (not a pussy)” sign.
This is a Revolutionary War flag that has been used by groups like the Tea Party and January 6 rioters. Variants on its theme were even used by the Confederacy and Ku Klux Klan. But the Gadsden Flag is our civic heritage as much as anyone else’s.
The flag’s message is a clarion call against infringement on liberty. Its design couldn’t be more American; the rattlesnake theme originated in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette, and represented unity among colonies during the Revolution. The flag itself was originally flown by the first commodore of the Continental Navy.
American antibodies to tyranny are not only in our Constitution and laws, but also in the way we understand our shared national project. Senator Chris Murphy describes us as being in “the middle of an authoritarian takeover.” In response, the Gadsden Flag may be our finest piece of national iconography.