There were precisely two occasions per year when I would witness flag raising ceremonies as a child, both of which took place at my church: the Fourth of July and Pioneer Day. Perhaps I am an outlier in this community, but I liked and still like the symbolism of hoisting the US flag on those occasions. In this post, I will not address the more contentious topics of whether we should tie patriotism to church worship or raise the flag on Pioneer Day (that was already well debated here on July 4); instead I will just explain why I find the ritual of flag raising a spiritually moving experience.
Flag raising is to me a ritual that both transcends and is embodied in a temporal moment. As we go through the procession of raising the flag each year, I find comfort in how the ritual symbolically establishes our continuity with the past and certain shared values. The ritual process is restricted in that certain procedures ought to be followed; but these restrictions also give me comfort by reminding me that our progress as individuals and as a society often depends on our willingness to abide by principles and laws. As I grow old enough to look back upon former ideas I held and to recognize that they were sometimes misguided, I see more and more value in knowing that there is a great deal of momentum behind certain core beliefs and procedures that would take a great deal more than whims to change.
But at the same time, we are required to act out anew and perform the flag raising ritual each year, which reminds me that our commitments to core principles must be defined and enacted by us everyday. As timeless as some principles are, they are also in flux as new participants shape them in each generation. “Freedom,” “liberty,” “progress,” and the like are fragile concepts that require constant renewal by those who live today.
The different actors who perform these flag raisings at different occasions present to me an evolving picture of what these values mean, raising often mixed sentiments in my mind that are as complex as the country (and church) we embody. The flag raisings I remember at my church always made me feel pride as I was able to envision a role in perpetuating the gospel and the best American principles. To me, America and the gospel both represent the aspiration of improving human lives in addition to being real organizational entities, and so I appreciate meditating on what they mean together. However, as I grew older, I also realized that I never got to actually act in a flag raising ceremony at church; flag raising was apparently a masculine territory reserved unofficially for current and former Boy Scouts. At other times, such as when I saw a flag raising at Pearl Harbor, flag raisings have filled me with nostalgia for a past that seemed more noble than our present. But these moments of tension between my ideals and contexts that tested them were productive for reflection upon how, why, and whether we should live in the patterns that we do.
But regardless of the particular range of emotions these individual instances of flag raising evoke, I continue to appreciate that flag raisings represent both continuity with the past and the fleetingness of the future, that they can evoke admiration for deeply held cultural values along with critical thinking about how those values should be enacted or reformed today. This simultaneous glimpse of an eternal and a temporal perspective remains to me deeply moving, intellectually important, and, yes, highly spiritual.
July 20, 2009 at 7:31 am
This is a wonderful reflection on the power of ritual, Natalie, and the important, even spiritual role it plays in how we deal with history, memory, and tradition. Customs–especially those tied to things larger than ourselves, whether it be our church or our country, however incoherently they may sometimes interact–are vital and more often than not, I think anyway, good things. You’re not the only defender of flag raisings around here.
July 20, 2009 at 7:38 am
Amen.
July 20, 2009 at 8:03 am
“However, as I grew older, I also realized that I never got to actually act in a flag raising ceremony at church; flag raising was apparently a masculine territory reserved unofficially for current and former Boy Scouts.”
I witnessed my first all-female color guard this year while attending girls camp. It was touching to see the girls perform the flag raising and I suddenly became aware that I hadn’t ever seen that before. We should allow our girls more opportunities like this.
July 20, 2009 at 9:33 am
3. Indeed.
July 20, 2009 at 11:19 am
I was raised as an Air Force brat and the flag ceremony take on a very special place in my life. I remember walking/biking/driving when the colores (flag) was retreated in the evening. No matter were you were on base traffic stopped, uniformed drives or passengers would exit, stand and salute during the ceremony. The bugle would play taps over the base PA system. Even as kids we stopped. At school every moring the we had a flag ceremony and the pledge. Call me old fashion but we need that kind of respect and ceremonies again. One summer during scout camp we shared a site with a Canadian Troop and we held a flag ceremony for both flags every moring. They (Canadians) were very respectful to thier flag, very sobering.
July 20, 2009 at 11:54 am
This was a very interesting post. I also enjoy flag ceremonies, largely––I think––because of their simplicity. Of course, they can be complicated by various additions, involving bugles and keynote speakers beforehand and donuts afterward. Still, in essentials, the flag ceremony has aged well. A number of various little ceremonies became popular in my local community while I was a middle-school student; however, they suffered from attempting to be too “relevant.” As Lewis said, referring to the revision of the ceremonies of the Church of England, “Most ‘up to date’ is soonest dated.”
July 20, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I was surprised that I got all choked up during the flag raising ceremony this July 4 at our ward. I was not expecting it at all. I was mostly thinking how thankful I am for being in the United States and how thankful I am for the good people in my ward. And I got choked up.
July 20, 2009 at 5:12 pm
“Flagophilia”
Strange how the same “flag” can evoke such different “feelings.” For me “americanism” from the Trail of Tears to Spanish American War to “Generation Kill” in the middle east represents the antithesis of the gospel. Just my “sentiment.” Flagophilia is the term I would use. Sorry for the downer comment.
http://www.themormonworker.org/articles/issue4/national_flagophilia.php
July 20, 2009 at 6:57 pm
#8: I Like raising flag ceremonies. For a moment, they can bring different views to a common place. But no one should die for a flag (too many have).
It should be seen as a sentimental, not spiritual moment. A moment of sharing feelings. It should be separated from the church.
I have many times been to the ceremonial at the end. When the coffin is covered with the flag, when the family is given a folded flag to replace their loved one.
Still, I put out my flag on all flag holidays,
July 20, 2009 at 7:33 pm
“I find comfort in how the ritual symbolically establishes our continuity with the past and certain shared values.”
And there in a nutshell is the salient characteristic of Mormons, the comfort of belonging. Is it not a bit ironic that free agency is most trumpeted in that group that chooses so rarely to exercise that freedom.
July 20, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Dan, I’m not sure if you’re being intentionally reductionist or just being clever, but if the “comfort of belonging” is supposed to be the salient characteristic, then I am clearly missing the point on this Mormon boat. I can certainly imagine that many members of the Church experience a great sense of belonging week in and week out; as for me and mine, there is more often a great sense of loneliness and wishing for community that we seemingly cannot find. It is not the social frills and basketball leagues that get me out to Church on Sundays.
I’ll not thread jack here, but just know that I was sorely tempted.
July 20, 2009 at 9:27 pm
My husband Mike was/is a patriot. The flag brought tears to his eyes. Mike and my boys are big scouters. Also our oldest son is a military man. At his graveside service, the local BSA Council lead his casket with a flag procession. A very tender moment for us all.
July 20, 2009 at 9:32 pm
My mother, a WAC during World War II, used to say that those times when she was part of a flag raising or lowering detail were the times when she most clearly recognized the need for and value of her service, the times when homesickness and rudimentary living conditions and submission to mediocre officers were most tolerable.
Ritual has a way of focusing the mind and emotions — and the body — that way.
July 20, 2009 at 10:29 pm
I remember in 1963, at age 17, going through training as a Marine in San Diego.
Before dawn, everyone went out onto the parade ground, (big enough to hold any shopping mall), for morning exercise. At dawn, the very large post flag went up, along with numerous others around the field, as the Marine Band played.
This was only 18 years after the end of WWII. Many of the instructors (early 40s), had hit the beaches on the Pacific islands. Others had been though the Korean War. Vietnam was yet to be.
THESE were flag raising to remember!