I remember the summer of ’76 — the flag still belongs to all of us

Yes, I am old enough to remember the summer of '76.

There are summers in my life that stand out for one reason or another — '79, '80, '83, '84, '87, '94, too many to list and too many reasons behind each one. The first summer of driving. The summer of high school graduation. The fun, loose summers of my twenties. The first summer with the woman who would become my wife. A great vacation with Linda and the kids in the Adirondacks.

But the first of all of them, the one that started the whole list, was the summer I turned 14. The summer of 1976.

Great music that year, no question. But the Bicentennial was everywhere. America's 200th birthday, and to my 14-year-old eyes it seemed like everyone was celebrating it together. We flew the American flag at our house. We were, without question or qualification, the United States.

As America closes in on its 250th, I am not so sure anymore.

I hate even writing that sentence. I hate thinking we might be the Divided States of America. But it sure seems that way lately, and that makes me sad.

SEE ALSO: Why is New Jersey asking people to fly the American flag? New poll may explain 

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About the flag

NBC News ran a piece this week asking Americans how they feel about flying the Stars and Stripes heading into the 250th. Some of the answers stopped me. One man said he plans to put a disclaimer next to his flag, clarifying that flying it does not mean he supports the current administration. A teacher in Rhode Island said she has not flown the flag since 2024 and is flying alternate banners instead. Others said they would fly the flag upside down, on purpose, as a form of protest.

I understand the impulse. I do not agree with the conclusion.

We fly the flag at our home. Always have, always will. The flag represents our country and the people who live here — Republicans, Democrats, independents, socialists, all of us, every one of us, living between the Atlantic and the Pacific. This land is your land, this land is my land, as the song goes. The flag is yours too. No movement owns it. No party owns it.

I do not understand the people who have given up on the flag, conceding it to whichever party currently holds power. No matter what you think of the current administration, patriotism and the flag will always be bigger than any single ideology, bigger than any party that happens to be in charge this decade. Parties come and go. The flag does not belong to them. It never did.

There is a small Jersey footnote to this story worth knowing. Annin Flagmakers, a sixth-generation family company that has sewn flags for everything from Abraham Lincoln's funeral to the Apollo moon landing, is based right here in New Jersey. Business is up about 20 percent this year, heading into the 250th. People are still buying flags. People still want one on the porch. That tells me something hopeful, even on a day when the news cycle wants to tell a more divided story.

EJ displays the flag | photo by EJ

Fly it anyway

Whether you are a fan of the current administration or not, I say fly the flag. Be proud to be an American for everything this country has been across 250 years — the parts that were hard, the parts we got wrong, and the parts that are still, even now, worth celebrating.

Proud to be American. Proud to be New Jersey.

The American flag and the United States. Let's keep both words true.