When I was growing socially and politically informed, in my early teenage years, I often read and heard that to be considered a « country » deserving to be a part of the United Nations (UN), a nation needed « a flag, a national anthem and an airline »! The last item being said sarcastically to laugh at so many countries that in spite of having overwhelming portions of their population under-nourished, even hungry, spent fortunes on running airlines.
The other day, when I was installing a French flag on my balcony, I recalled this period and more specifically the flag issue. More so than with the national anthem, we have a very special reverense to our national flag. In many countries burning it or stepping malevolently on it, is a misdemeanor, at least ; unless it is another country’s flag. We also manage to look up to it, not down upon it. In most military caserns, there are daily flag raisings, as well as in schools in many countries.
So, after I installed the flag and a mild wind picked up, the flag opened in full and kept waving. I must admit at that time I was overwhelmed with awe. Just watching the flag wave made me transcend over centuries of lives passed by people whose journeys represented by this wavy movement.
I am sure we have all had impressive visions of flags waving on top of buildings, homes, and flag poles, and sometimes those visions have been awe-striking, but I must admit, I never asked myself, ‘why I feel this awed?’ After all, it is just a piece of cloth attached to a pole and waving in the wind.
As I was delving on the question, it dawned on me that perhaps the majesty of the flag lies in the history behind it: the struggles, the successes and the sacrifices of the people and the generations that made that nation exist, and that is regardless of whether the nation represented by that flag is a few decades, a few centuries or even millennia old.
Paris, October 16, 2025
Zeejay