About the State of Mississippi's New Flag

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Having attained the nadir (?) of its pretentious colorblindness in the summer of 2020, the US has resorted to palliatives to soothe its permanent gangrene called racism. Like cancer, racism continues to grow because it continues to be taught and exploited (yes, it is hideously lucrative for material and power). Mississippi's sedative is the state's new flag. Albeit just a flag, ergo, a mere symbol, we residents of the state need to thank the activists and proponents who fought for the change. Some of them thought the day would never come when the old flag (a symbol of twisted economic boom and vitality for some, but a reminder of stolen lives and wealth and endless discrimination for others) would come down forever. It did. The new flag is a brave testimony of our ever-expanding intelligence, tolerance, and humanity. The new flag's colors and design do not matter as it is just a symbol. However, my reservation about it stems from including the words "In God We Trust" (IGWT).



Let me use two situations to illustrate. When my late wife and I faced her last days, my sister-in-law and her family visited us. As I made food, I had two choices: go spicy as we are used to, or cut out the spices because my sister-in-law's husband does not eat spicy food. To my wife (who loved her food as spicy-hot as possible) and me, not spicy means bland, but what adds flavor to our food is a health hazard to my brother-in-law.

In 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA), which narrowed down marriage to a union between a man and a woman. When the US Congress passed it in 1996, it excluded same-sex couples.

 In both examples, one of the options excludes, and in the case of my brother-in-law, causes discomfort. The redefinition of marriage does no harm to anyone who wants to marry, and in the other case, there is a solution for those who like spicy food: add spices on the side. In education, we call these accommodations.

Let’s return to MS's new flag. For the most part, its design falls in line with the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) guidelines. Considering that one cannot represent everything in a flag, the new design gets a pass for me, but the words IGWT, no. Considering Mississippi's history and composition, we can assume the "God" mentioned is the Christian God, aka Yahweh. IGWT is a great motto or slogan if you are a Christian. Considering the state's religiosity (absolute certainty that a god exists) at 82%, MS denizens would consider my present rambling as those of a "fool [who] hath said in his heart, there is no God" (Psalm 14:1) and therefore deserve no attention. As the profession of an exclusive relationship with a deity is, by essence, an exclusionary proclamation, so is the adoption of "In God We Trust." MS has switched its insensitive lens from people of color to 18% of its population that does not believe in a god. It is equivalent to saying, "Our state is the state of the Christian God, and if you don't like it, you can go to hell. Literally!

In a futile (for me) comment over the addition of IGWT, I mentioned other routes we could have taken without favoring anyone. We could have excluded the words altogether as recommended by NAVA (no harm to anyone) or used a description such as "The Magnolia State" or used (my favorite) "E Pluribus Unum." In the latter option, by declaring that out of many, we are one, we cause no harm or discomfort to anyone and assert our intent to actively pursue unity (oneness), a lofty ideal enshrined in one of the United States' founding documents.

IGWT is another blatant manifestation of Christian privilege or a statement of the invisible obvious (Christians are in the majority in MS and have the authority to do as they please). The great paradox is that while IGWT is obsolete to MS's stance as a Christian state or population, not everyone finds comfort in the words "In God We Trust." If this is true, then why include it?

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