Let us consider the history of flags in warfare.

In ancient Roman times, each legion carried its own banner, with the eagle of the Roman Empire being the common element among all legions’ flags.

The flag served as a way of unifying a legion, to keep a semblance of order in battle, and to mark the legion’s position.

This tradition filtered down through the British armies, which during the American Revolutionary War used youths too young to bear arms to carry a tall pole bearing the regimental standard.

“Defending” the flag meant defending the position of one’s army on the field of battle, and “capturing” a flag meant the practical elimination of that force in the field.

“Advancing” a flag meant capturing more of the field, giving one a definite advantage, similar to advancing a rook on a chessboard.

Speaking of games, let’s do some word play.

Substitute “statue” or “living symbol” in place of “flag/banner/standard” in the above paragraph. It cannot be done and yet be true.

A flag was used in battle because it was much more transportable, even by the weakest members of a unit.

A folded piece of fabric and the pieces of an eight-foot pole are much more portable even today than an eight-foot statue, and requires less care than a bald eagle — which is also much less likely to stay near a smoky and noisy field of battle, anyway.

I reiterate a point of my last letter: The emotions attached to a flag on the field of battle should not be carried over in equal force to peacetime.

In peacetime it is still but one of many national symbols, rather than the only or most common symbol used in battle.

The flag is THE symbol of a nation in battle because it is nearly as durable as a statue, requires less maintenance than an eagle, as colorful as the American Beauty rose but still recognizable as ours, even from a distance.

If someone is going to burn a flag in protest, listen and support or shoot down the argument on its own merit, but don’t take away a protester’s right to argument because a flag was burned to raise attention.

Jeni Nosbisch

Senior

German