American Flag (Color)

I like flags in general because they are both colorful and emblematic –and made of fabric. I especially like big American flags, because I think they are funny. Is the ginormous flag a uniquely American idiom? This one caught my eye in a county park near/in Cranford, New Jersey. I found it particularly animate and gentle on a bright, breezy day. It moves, bends, and folds, especially at the edges where red and white meet green. I think embedded somewhere in here is a poltical theory having nothing to do with morality or patriotism, just with colors, symbols, and primitive forms of visual and haptic affiliations. I’m not going to pretend that it’s a complete political theory, only part of the picture.

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About zjb

Zachary Braiterman is Professor of Religion in the Department of Religion at Syracuse University. His specialization is modern Jewish thought and philosophical aesthetics. http://religion.syr.edu
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