Flag Day feels different this year, but it doesn’t have to | Opinion
Saturday is Flag Day. In previous years, June 14 came and went for most people without a second thought. But this year, Flag Day is making a lot of waves — not only because of the Washington, D.C., military parade for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary or because it coincides with President Donald Trump’s birthday, but also because of the nationwide protests planned. “No Kings” protests are scheduled across the country as a response to Trump’s military parade.
Recently, it seems like there have been a lot of protests, not just those held last weekend in Los Angeles, but also outside Tesla dealerships, the May Day rallies, the Hands Off protest in April and others. While I appreciate and respect the First Amendment right to protest and exercise free speech, something that doesn’t sit right with me is watching protesters fly the flag upside down.
The upside American flag was used in the past to signal a ship in distress, but both the left and the right also have employed it as a way to show dissent.
I understand that people want to protest Trump’s policies, and many may feel these are dire circumstances deserving of the strongest response. But do we all still remember the outrage when Trump supporters flew the flag upside down after his conviction on 34 felonies last summer?
Upside down flag
Before recent events, I had never seen the American flag fly upside down. But it has happened before. After President Harry Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur in the middle of the Korean War, Americans turned their flags upside down in protest. According to the American Legion, the flag should only be flown upside when there is extreme danger to life or property.
In Spence v. Washington, a 1974 Supreme Court decision, the court found that desecrating the flag, including flying it upside down as a symbol of protest, is protected speech under the First Amendment. Nevertheless, it’s sad to see Old Glory upside down — especially at the recent May Day protest in Miami. The protests were in response to the administration’s actions against immigrants and federal workers in the first 100 days of Trump in office.
What is most troubling here is what the recent embrace of using the flag as a protest symbol reveals about where we are as a nation.
When both sides wave an upside down American flag, it signals that a lot of us believe democracy is in peril. They may be right, but have we lost sight of what the flag is meant to represent?
Stars and stripes
The flag has long been a symbol of what unites us as a nation — 13 stripes for the original colonies and 50 stars for each state. Despite our differences, the flag has served as reminder that we are united in one nation, even when we disagree.
On this Flag Day, whether that means parades or protests, take a moment and think about what the American flag has stood for in history. During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner, as the British attacked Fort McHenry, about the flag continuing to wave over “the land of the free and the home of the brave.“
Old Glory has weathered wars, terror attacks, the Great Depression and elections. It has covered the coffins of service members who died while defending our rights, including the right to protest. It has been a beacon of hope for many and stood tall in our nation’s darkest hours.
On Saturday, let us remember what it stands for.
Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM.