This blog post is going to be a little different than my usual fun outdoors stories. However, I feel as though what I am about to say goes hand in hand with those, given how much hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities can connect people across various demographics and party lines.
Without getting political, some may grapple with feeling a certain level of pride in being an American as our country turns 250 years old.
Objectively, there are many happenings in the United States right now that are unsettling.
The erosion of rights and crackdown on certain freedoms does not, or rather should not, have anything to do with politics, and it fundamentally contradicts everything this country was founded on.
I have found myself reflecting on what it means to be American lately. What emotions certain imagery stirs up, the thought of embarrassment in the face of other countries, and a lack of delivery on what the American Dream is supposed to be.
I know I am not alone in these feelings, but what if we didn’t have to feel this way?
My late mother happened to record a video for me while she was planning her estate. Although her passing was unexpected, the timing of her video (recorded two months earlier) was uncanny.
She detailed her life, my life, and everything in between. However, one of the biggest aspects of her video that stood out to me was her comments on the state of the United States.
The video was recorded around the 4th of July in 2025. She stated that she wanted to get an American flag to display at her apartment. Given the incredibly self-aware woman she was, she recognized the rhetoric that many people now associate with the flag: Hate, authoritarianism, nationalism, etc.
She argued that the flag should not, and frankly does not, stand for those ideals.
That those who believe in a brighter future should reclaim the flag for what they believe in.
That the idea that America was founded on still lives, and is, and will always be, worth fighting for.
That sticks with a 20-something kid who just lost his mother.
I have taken those remarks a step further in my reflection to suggest that the moment we give the flag to those ideals, we have lost sight of the country we hope to live in in the first place.
Other countries have pride in their flag because they believe in their culture and, in many cases, their government.
It should be no different in the US.
While some may disagree with what I have said, I implore those who don’t to display their flags.
And anyone who does display a flag should do so for implicit reasons.
Not because we are told to, because someone else did, or for any political statement.
Simply display your flag because you are proud of what you represent as an American and what America has a chance to represent around the world.
Shed the negative connotation around the flag and take pride in what you stand for.
I certainly will be moving forward.
