In light of the history-defining moment of January 6th, America requires a restart. Our reputation and democracy were challenged on the biggest stage for the whole world to see. Our nation and values will be forever stained by what happened. There are lots of opinions on how we should proceed as a nation. Grammy-winning R&B singer Macy Gray thinks a good place to start would be to redefine what the American flag symbolizes. We as a nation have weathered many storms no matter how impactful the event was. As we usher in a new era, has the time finally come to cast away old symbols?
Macy Gray made headlines this past week with her highly controversial views regarding the American Flag. In an op-ed published on MarketWatch.com, the “I Try” singer expressed how outdated the American flag we wave truly is. The article came on the eve of President Joe Biden officially recognizing Juneteeth, a day where slaves were officially free, as a federal holiday. Macy Gray linked the current American flag to that of the Condferdtre flag. After the event of Jan 6th, Macy Gray felt the American flag’ changed as Trump supporters use it to storm the U.S. Capitol.
“Why do we have to celebrate a flag that now represents divisiveness and hate?” she asked while on her tv interview with Fox.
“The people there held it up as their symbol as ‘this is what America represents,'” Gray continued. “‘We’re threatening to hang the vice president and our gang sign is the flag.'”
Macy Gray said she worked with an artist to envision a new American flag. The new flag would be more inclusive to all American citizens while adding two more stars. The two new stars would be for Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., two pieces of land that have been seeking statehood for a long time. Macy Gray also spoke about changing the white stripes of the American flag to off-white.
“The Smithsonian documents that the ‘white’ stripes represent purity and innocence. America is great. It is beautiful. Pure, it ain’t. It is broken and in pieces,” she stated.
“The blue square represents vigilance and perseverance, and the red stripes stand for valor,” she added. “America is all of those things. So, what if those elements on the flag remained?”
While the last change for the American flag was 60 years ago, changing it now may do more harm than good. In some sense, Macy Gray is right. The events of Jan. 6th have changed how the world views us. More importantly, it has changed how we view our fellow Americans. But to change the American flag may further divide us in this time of need. The best way for us to come together would be to take back our image in the world. The American flag represents all aspects of the United States and we can’t erase it. Through it all, the flag has remained a constant reminder of what the U.S. can do when we all come together. To replace the American flag would be to erase all the things that make us the United States of America.
