As Scotland's saltire is used to protest against migrants like me, we need a new 'grand old flag'
A simple piece of coloured cloth can inspire strong emotions. It’s time to harness that power to celebrate the common goodness of all humankind, writes Joe Goldblatt
One day in September whilst walking through the Dumbiedykes housing estate near my home in Edinburgh, I noticed dozens of Scottish saltire flags displayed from the resident’s windows and large saltire pennants with hundreds of miniature flags stretched across the grounds.
I immediately wondered, what were we celebrating? As the author of dozens of books in the field of events management, I feared that I had fallen down on my job and had forgotten to celebrate a major day in my beloved adopted country.
A local resident was walking his dog nearby and I asked him why the flags were being displayed. However, he shook his head from side to side and, with a frown upon his face, told me: “They are protesting against asylum seekers and immigrants.”
Then he shrugged his shoulders in bewilderment, sadness, and distress and continued to walk his dog around the estate. I had heard about the protests outside the so-called asylum hotels in Scotland but had never witnessed this kind of thing so close to my own home.
Still welcome in Scotland?
I was reminded of the time during the war years when, in the United States, where I was born, and other countries around the world, some hotels would post signs that stated: “No Jews, No Irish, and No Dogs Allowed!”
As a new Scot, I shuddered to think that, after nearly 20 years of living, contributing, and paying taxes in Scotland – and even though I had officially become a United Kingdom citizen and had a British passport to prove it – perhaps some of my neighbours were beginning to question whether I was actually welcome in Scotland.
I began to also ponder the power of flags in terms of uniting or dividing us as citizens. For example, when I recently walked by a local police substation, I witnessed a small but loud demonstration in which dozens of Palestinian flags were being waved furiously. I felt somewhat ostracised from this civil demonstration simply because I am Jewish.
In 1906, the American songwriter and actor George M Cohan (1878-1942) wrote a popular melody about flags that helped his nation stand taller and experience greater community cohesion.
According to Cohan, the inspiration for the song came when he met a veteran from the US Civil War who was holding a small torn US flag. Cohan looked at the gentleman’s flag and said: “She’s a grand old rag.”
Later he changed the word rag to ‘flag’ in the song, You’re a Grand Old Flag, written for the musical George Washington, Jr, after objections from his fellow citizens. I suppose the question today is whether it is still a grand old flag that unites or divides us as citizens?
READ MORE: The amazing 1,700-year-old story of Scotland’s Saltire and why it should be a flag for all
A cause of both fear and pride
Such questions perhaps help explain why, when the Scottish Government decided to raise the Palestinian flag in front of our iconic Scottish Parliament building and also call for Palestinian statehood, I began to wonder why a flag, a few metres of cloth, can cause us to recoil in fear and yet also rise with collective pride?
When I recently saw a lovely, small lapel pin with both flags of Israel and Scotland side by side, I wondered why we do not fly both the Israeli and Palestinian flags side by side to demonstrate our commitment to two states living together harmoniously and united by a common commitment to peace.
The answer to that question, of course, is of great diplomatic complexity and it will require more than symbolic gestures to achieve a lasting peace among these two ancient warrior nations. After all, they have been fighting with one another for many, many years and it will take more than symbols and gestures to create common understanding and enduring peace.
Our flags serve as tools for expressing our geographic and personal identity – both in terms of nation states and gender – as communication devices, with a flag at half mast reminding us of a period of mourning, as decoration, and, most of all, as a means of fostering unity and a sense of belonging among all people.
A new flag of peace
As long as there are human beings, there will probably be flags that bring them great pride but also sometimes shame. Therefore, within the 21st century, I believe we need to reimagine the concept of the flag and see it as an emblem for promoting goodness, kindness, and harmony.
In order to do this, we may need to recreate or even create whole new flags to demonstrate our greater community cohesion and love and respect for one another, even our enemies.
I believe it is time for a 21st-century flag of peace and community cohesion – not the white flag of surrender but one that conveys a bolder and more active message that helps everyone to celebrate the common goodness of all humankind.
Perhaps the flag of the 21st century could be even grander than the one Cohan saw in the hands of that old US Civil War veteran. And its grandeur may come not from its design or size but rather from the meaning that is sewn into every single fibre.
Joe Goldblatt is emeritus professor of planned events at Queen Margaret University and the ambassador of the Edinburgh Interfaith Association. His views are his own. For more information about his views visit www.joegoldblatt.scot
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