Recently, a member of the New York Times editorial board by the name of Mara Gay was on MSNBC and she said she had visited Long Island that weekend and there were people displaying the American flag on vehicles and other places. She said the sight of American flags made her uncomfortable and was “disturbing.” She went onto say, “Essentially the message was clear: This is my country. This is not your country. I own this.” The New York Times on Twitter gave a full-throated defense of her saying she was taken out of context but what are you to believe from a statement like that? The flag is something to be proud of and if you see it as something else, then we should talk about it.
She may have been taken out of context, but in watching the full interview, she does project her views in the analysis of what she saw that weekend as disturbing and uncomfortable. In addition, she reads between the lines based on nothing but seeing American flags on Long Island. She also made a point about “Americaness” being perceived by her to be owned by a specific group. Did she consider, it was Memorial Day week and maybe the flags were there for that reason? I am going to project (a 1990’s woke term) on her that she does not get out much.
My issue is this, we all have to get out more. We need to talk to people we do not agree with and then we need to learn about other people. There are probably people among you own family and friend you have made judgments about that are not true. Listen more and talk less. Even though I make my living talking, I try to listen as much as I can. I am still a work in progress. We should stop, have conversations and get to know people.
This cycle we are in will pass and I for one will be happy about it.
