Tuesday, January 12, 2021

This is not the American Flag



image from cnn.com

 This is not the American Flag

“I cannot trust a man to control others who

cannot control himself.”--Robert E. Lee


It certainly is not Old Glory.

It is not sung about in the Star Spangled Banner.

Nor is it the Founding Father’s Flag, made by

Miss Betsy, with 13 stars in a circle.

It is not the one with an eagle in the middle of a

neat circle of 28 stars.

Nor is it the 25 star flag with a stray star in a 

line all by itself.

It is not even the 25 star flag, with a huge star

in the middle.

It is not the flag with concentric circles of stars,

with a big one in the middle.

Nor is it the “X” of stars, with extras on the edge.

And it certainly is not the 48-49-50 star flag

I would stand and pledge allegiance to every

morning of public school.

It is not our national treasured ensign.

Nor is it the battleship flag I picked up while in

the Navy.


No, it is a traitor’s battle rag,

a treasonous flag of slavery

                             of the KKK

                             of Jim Crowe

                             of racism

                             of lynchings

                             of murderous rednecks, good old boys

with M-15’s, Nazi sentiments, and Fascist fantasies.


Thank the angels of reason, it is finally

recognized as a pariah, and can no longer be

allowed to fly alongside Southern state flags,

becoming something horrendous, waving too often

in the hands of insurrectionists, American Nazis, Proud
Boys, Qenon, white supremacists and anarchists, 

backed by thousands of rabid Trumpers as they

defecated and urinated in the sacred halls of Congress

on January 6th . 



Glenn Buttkus


Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub

13 comments:

robkistner said...

I am a no-guns peace-monger, and I believe in just protesting — but with these terrorist thugs, I am beginning to wonder if we shouldn’t just take ‘em down, and let the instigators bleed out. They are mounting armed warfare against our country. We can get medical help then, and imprisonment for the mindless followers who, were just going along for the rush of it. I am shocked to realize that I might just meant this,

Helen said...

An epic write that needs to be read by every citizen in the USA.

JadeLi said...

You can't say it any plainer, Glenn. They are treasonous and must be effectively dealt with, whatever is the most effective with the least amount of force. We've got their faces plastered all over on video footage. Local governments really need to be on their guard right now to nip this sh*t in the bud. I learned that 2 of my county's commissioners loaded up buses and were there -- proudly-- for the attempted coup. These two need to be removed from their positions immediately.

Dwight L. Roth said...

You have summed it up so well! This is not just a flag... it is hate personified and a desecration of the Capital Halls. ! Very well written Glen.

Judy Dykstra-Brown said...

Traitor's battle rag... love it.The phrase, not the flag.

Alexandra said...

I will never get over that image.

Ingrid said...

An interesting history of American flags you've included here with this important message. I hope you don't see any more trouble on inauguration day.

Kerfe said...

Desecration of our democracy, and there should be no place for it in public discourse. You always have a way of summarizing the crux of the matter that is powerful and true.

Kim M. Russell said...

Thank you for the history of the American flag, Glenn, which I know very little about. There are so many names and variations. I can see how the flag has been desecrated by fascists and hope that the whole sorry situation comes to an end very soon.

Misky said...

A traitor's battle rag. Precisely. I hope the days to come are without incident.

Debi Swim said...

I don't understand how anyone can still hold that flag as a symbol. I guess there will always be haters.

Mish said...

When I read your title I said, "Amen" out loud. It was SO SO difficult to witness the horrific, mindless, degrading, disgusting acts of violence that happened on Jan.6. I can't even imagine how it hurts the hearts of good Americans because it hurt mine. For four years and more, I've been constantly questioning the logic and mental capacity not of idiots like these(that's a waste of time) but of those who are otherwise intelligent and upstanding people that follow this sheepish shit! Glenn, this piece is stellar and deserves to be read way beyond the poetry community.

brudberg said...

It's certainly a traitor's battle rag, and seeing it inside the Capitol shows exactly how much respect they had for USA... Sickening, it should be banned in the same manner that swastikas are .