Flying Their True Colours

I saw an interesting sight the other afternoon.  While driving along US-1 in an urban area of very South Florida I noticed a large white pickup truck with large tires (the type of vehicle that, with or without a gun rack, would be attributed around here as being owned and operated by rednecks, or should I say white males with plenty of Southern Pride).  Waving proudly in the back was a very large American flag.

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By “American” I specifically mean The United States Of America, not any of those other North American countries who’s inhabitants, if you’ve been listening intently to Donald Trump lately, are almost all scumbagsA. (But don’t worry, scumbags, if you are willing to work for the Donald for next-to-nothing, I’m sure he will still like you – unless you are capturedA (by immigration perhaps).


Although I’ve recently expressed my view on the display of the Confederate flag, the flag that one is most likely to see in these parts would be the flag of our nearest Latin American neighbors (you’d better check the map; around here that wouldn’t be Mexico).  As it turns out, when you are as far south as you can possibly get inside the continental limits of the United States, the traditional southern white folk no longer represent the Majority.   That title was seized several decades ago by Cubans displaced by a communist regime at home.

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I realize the term “communist” or its significance in this instance may cause confusion.   When I was young (which is probably long before your time), we were taught that communism was very, very bad.   Many Cubans came here during that era.   But as we’ve learned from the Chinese experience, one’s political circumstances aren’t really all that important as long as one is willing to work for next-to-nothing.   Just ask the Donald.   Then you can be our buddy (sorry, I mean BFF).   In fact, to avoid offending our BFFs, we don’t even use the word “communist” anymore unless we are talking about our political opponents (of just about any flavor) or the PopeA.   So apparently, their government still won’t allow the people in Cuba to work for Americans for next-to-nothing. And those that moved here wouldn’t think of doing that either.   So there is a lot of hostility between the Cuban residents of the two countries, even now as our President tries to restore relations, just as his (Republican) predecessors have done with milder, less oppressive or objectionable countries like Russia and China.


What really pissed off the locals as this power shift was taking place was that the newcomers weren’t assimilating the local culture.   They weren’t bothering to learn English. They weren’t renouncing the corruption or other values of a third-world country. And maybe most important, they kept waving that damn Cuban flag.   This has been going on for over fifty years now.   If the local Cubans had assimilated, then they would have known that the flag they should have been waving was from a group that actually attacked and declared war on the United States to preserve their enlightened principles under the guise of “state rights”. Only after a long, devastating struggle was that group soundly defeated and erased from existence over 150 years ago.

Anyway, when I saw the American flag in the back of the pickup truck, I know it wasn’t that big a deal, but I found it refreshing.   Maybe that guy finally found something he could be proud of.

Lately the only ones you normally see flying the American flag, the largest they can possibly find, are used car dealerships.   And how many times have you heard on the news about the veteran who tried flying his flag, but was denied or thrown out by his condominium association. The condo association was exercising the same rights to protect their residents from offensive material that the vet had fought so hard to protect (and that some of his friends no doubt died for).   But this is America, after all.   It almost brought tears to my eyes.

DIn the time several centuries ago when the British Navy ruled the seas, “colours” meant “flag”.

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