Claiming that Findlay, Ohio is a patriotic town would be a massive understatement.
Findlay’s nickname is “Flag City,” and even a cursory jaunt downtown proves that the locals take it as a solemn duty to live up to that moniker. There are flag banners, flag billboards, flag buntings and, yes, flag flags everywhere. In most towns, the flags come out for Independence Day, then they return to be moth-balled with last winter’s sweaters. In Findlay, the place looks like it’s the Fourth of July all year around.
While climbing Cardigan with my buddy Pavel several weeks ago, he mentioned a visiting relative’s surprise at the number of American flags she saw. In France, she explained, people waved the flag on nationalistic holidays or special occasions…but presumably the French don’t have flags hanging from every front porch. In recounting how he’d tried to explain to his guest why every small New England town seemed to be perpetually bedecked with red, white, and blue, Pavel remarked that the ideals the flag symbolizes are complex, but the flag itself is simple. Whether every flag-waver fully understands what her or his country “really” represents, waving a flag is an easy way to be part of the American crowd.
I think Pavel might be onto something…and I think here in Ohio, there’s something more. Although I’ve lived in various parts of New England for a dozen years now, I can’t say I understand the quintessential New England mindset. But being born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, I think I have an idea of what it might be like to have been born and raised in Findlay. When you hail from the Middle of Middle America, much of what you see in the media seems to have no relevance to who and where you are. Can single women in Smalltown America relate to Sex in the City? Can awkward teens in Podunk, USA see themselves in the glamorous celebrities on MTV? Do the local concerns of Findlay, OH have any apparent impact on the wheelings and dealings of the Big Wigs in Washington, DC? When you live in the great expansive Middle, those stereotypical Left Coast Wackos and Northeastern Liberals really do seem to be from another planet. Driving straight roads set amongst flat cornfields, you might not necessarily agree with the likes of Rush Limbaugh…but his popularity suggests that his down-home and simple interpretation of current events strikes a nerve with someone out here.
Judging from what the media portrays as “American reality,” ours is a society that subscribes to the cult of the exciting, glamorous, and spectacular…and everyday life in Ohio is everything but exciting, glamorous, and spectacular. If you were a down-home Nobody living and eventually dying in Nowhere, USA, wouldn’t you sometimes wonder about the Greater Meaning of it all? (I know I certainly did, and do.) If your day-to-day existence of going to work, paying bills, and raising a family seemed entirely divorced from anything that society defines as Exciting and Worthwhile, wouldn’t you need some sort of belief in something greater–something bigger than yourself–to give meaning to the mundane?
I don’t think it’s coincidental that both God and Country are wildly popular in the Middle of Middle America, for belief in either God or Country can be a powerful way of bringing meaning to an existence that feels mind-numbingly dull (and downright meaningless) much of the time. In Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Kathleen Norris understands small town life in her own version of Nowhere, USA by defining as “sacred” our human need to belong to something: “I suspect that when modern Americans ask, ‘what is sacred?’ they are really asking ‘what place is mine? what community do I belong to?’” We all want to belong to something, and Team Red, White, and Blue works as well as any other motivator. The American flag is a simple symbol that stands for something very complex. When daily life seems far removed from all that is exciting and spectacular, it helps to imagine our endeavors as being inspired by larger-than-life ideals.
Aug 16, 2005 at 10:16 pm
L,
Here in Virginia it often feels like Nowhere USA too! I often wonder what it is like most anywhere else… and yet wonder if Somewhere is any better than Nowhere? I suppose life is what you make of it. Findlay seems like a nice place from what I can see. Perhaps not very exciting but I’d like to visit someday. I hope you are having a nice trip.
Aug 16, 2005 at 10:40 pm
Wow – that is something! Perhaps the folks of Findlay, Ohio grew tired of having to put up 4th of July decorations every year - so one day, during a town hall meeting, the decision was made to display their independence day decorations year round
Aug 17, 2005 at 3:48 pm
I remember being a teenager and living near Berkeley in the late 60s, it really was nice feeling like I lived in what I felt was the coolest place at that time (the coolest time!) in the whole US.
But I wonder if life itself is pretty much the same anywhere.
Nancy
Aug 17, 2005 at 3:48 pm
I remember being a teenager and living near Berkeley in the late 60s, it really was nice feeling like I lived in what I felt was the coolest place at that time (the coolest time!) in the whole US.
But I wonder if life itself is pretty much the same anywhere.
Nancy
Aug 17, 2005 at 9:29 pm
I never thought about patriotism in quite those terms, but I think you’re right about it helping to feed a desire to identify with something bigger. Good post.
Aug 18, 2005 at 7:53 am
Thanks for taking my half-expressed idea and actually saying something articulate about it. I like the notion of flag-waving as representing a kind of association of similarly-minded folks (whether cognizant or not of what the symbol actually stands for), but does this help to understand why France, for instance, is not similarly bespangled? Are the French less patriotic? more aware of their national history? Are they simply afraid of violating strict flag regulations (it is a crime to “insult the flag” in France)?
Aug 18, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Your recent articles about Findlay and Toledo were quite interesting, as are most all of your postings, but I wasn‘t sure if they were intended as a tongue-in-cheek put-down of small town America or your self-realization that the sanity of the Midwest is far superior to the wacky West Coast or liberal East. Perhaps I was reading something into it that wasn’t there because of my love for small town America - the healthy balance to the diversely populated centers of power and influence in this nation.
Growing up in such towns in Texas during the 1930s Great Depression era and working since the age ten, followed by serving in the Navy during WWII, Korea and Vietnam — i.e., living all the history young people study about today in books that frequently are inaccurate or slanted to authors’ purposes — gives me quite a different perspective of life than that which has evolved in the minds of later generations. And, with 82 years aboard spaceship Earth’s orbit, I am now among the last of the breed of that era.
The ideals that still exist in small town America today may also be the last of a breed of an America that has changed with time - to its detriment. If some historians are correct, it would seem that America is now in its final stage of decline.
In his book, “The Fate of Empires” British General Sir John Glubb wrote:
“The stages of the rise and fall of great nations seem to be: The Age of Pioneers, The Age of Conquests, The Age of Commerce, The Age of Affluence, The Age of Intellect, and The Age of Decadence.
“Decadence is marked by: Defensiveness, Pessimism, Materialism, Frivolity, An influx of Foreigners, The Welfare State, and A Weakening of Religion.
“Decadence is due to: Too long a period of Wealth and Power.”
At the most optimistic view, America is certainly at the crossroads today, if not already in that final stage. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to live in its golden age. Jug
Aug 20, 2005 at 2:15 pm
Well, Lillie, Emily Dickinson said she’d prefer to be a Nobody than a Somebody…and I guess Amherst, MA is a pretty small “Nowhere” kind of town!
I’m sure there are more Nowheres in America than there are Somewheres, although TV and movies focus on the latter more than the former. It’s enough, I think, to give *all* of us an inferiority complex!
Jeff, I don’t know when or how they decided to become Flag City…but I can only imagine what it looked like in July when they *really* decorated the town!
Nancy, I think there’s a human tendency to think your own corner of the universe is either the coolest or the corniest place in the world…and I’d be willing to bet that this attitude varies depending on how old you are! I know a lot of small town folks can’t wait to move to the Big City…and then once they get there & realize how tough it is, Small Town USA looks mighty good. I also think a lot of people migrate back to small towns & suburbs when they have kids: an exciting city is great when you’re single, but small towns are great for “nesting.”
Dave, I’m still not sure why the Midwest feels so much more patriotic than the Northeast, apart from the obvious difference in political affiliations. I’m a registered Democrat, yet I consider myself fairly patriotic, being a sucker for flags and war memorials & such. So I’m always surprised & amazed when I encounter stereotypical “Northeast liberals” who seem almost anti-American to me: that sort of thinking just doesn’t fly where I come from.
Pavel, I’m not sure why the French are less enamored of their flag than we are. I can’t say they’re any less patriotic than Americans, although I bet the notion of national identity has something to do with it. In a non-immigrant country, I suspect you don’t need a *flag* to assert who you are: there’s no question that you’re “French” in terms of citizenship, ethnic identity, etc. Here in the States, I think we need a simple symbol to remind ourselves that despite our varied racial, religious, & socioeconomic backgrounds, we’re all on the same team, so to speak. I think the notion of the great American melting pot makes our national identity particularly tenuous, so we have to wave that flag even more emphatically than most.
Jug, I think (?) I was being simultaneously ironic & entirely sincere in this post, if that’s possible. Being raised in the Midwest & now living in the Northeast, I find myself almost automatically poking fun (in a lighthearted way) of my hometown roots even though I’m not from a small town. Folks here in New England almost automatically assume that everything in the Midwest is hokey, so I jokingly play along with that…especially since most native Ohioans can’t wait to grow up & get out of the state!
But…making fun of your Midwestern roots is like teasing your Mama: *you* can do it, but you won’t tolerate anyone *else* doing it. So as much as I joke about Ohio being “the Middle of Nowhere,” I spend just as much time & energy defending where I come from against big-city folks who think they’re necessarily more sophisticated than the rest of us.
The issue of decadence is an interesting one. Historically, every century’s end has been hailed as being the end of a golden age…and yet the points Glubb makes are valid. I find it particularly interesting that both conservatives and liberals would agree that America is in some sort of decline although they’d point to different causes, conservatives arguing that moral decay is to blame and liberals arguing that environmental degradation is a contributing cause.
Glubb himself said it: “Decadence is due to: Too long a period of Wealth and Power.” Traditionally, the American Dream has been to give your children the things you couldn’t afford for yourself, and unfortunately this isn’t a sustainable vision. From a liberal standpoint, the environment doesn’t have the carrying capacity to produce more and more “stuff”; from a conservative standpoint, children who are handed the world on a platter tend to grow up lazy and spoiled.
I’m not sure waving a flag is going to fix either of these problems…but the folks in Findlay certainly are giving it an honest go.