American flag – As Americans prepare for the Fourth of July, the flag is showing up on porches, streets, and merchandise trucks. But in interviews across the country, the same banner is also becoming a flashpoint—used to score political points, judged through race and age, an
On the morning of the Fourth, you could spot American flags in places that normally hold steady traditions—street poles in South Boston, porches in Dorchester Heights, and even the back of a merchandise truck in Roxbury.
But inside the warm glow of Independence Day color, several people described something sharper: the sense that the flag has started to carry an accusation.
“It makes me sad,” said Bill LeBeau, 62, a Massachusetts adjutant of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “When I was growing up, this was never a thing. Everybody in the country knew what the flag was.”
For LeBeau and others, the flag once symbolized broad national purpose—even as many still struggled to claim rights or criticized the government. This Fourth of July, he said, even flying one at home can come with political, demographic, and racial overtones.
About 70 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Americans ages 60 and older fly the flag at least during national holidays. according to an April survey by The Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. In contrast, about 60 percent of Democrats and independents said they never fly the flag, including about 75 percent of Democrats under 45.
The survey also found that only about 30 percent of Black adults said they ever display the banner.
That split is visible in how people talk about the flag—what it means. what it threatens. and what it’s become. A range of interviews by the Globe described a complicated relationship with the nation’s symbol. mixing nostalgia for simpler times. a longing for shared values. and the recognition that the flag now can be divisive.
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
American flag Fourth of July political polarization patriotism veterans Susan Collins Graham Platner MAGA Republicans Democrats racism symbolism