This is a response to the letter Sepi Alavi wrote regarding a flagpole at the high school that is to be used solely for our American flag.

Sepi, you suggest that the U.S. flag “promotes an ideology of superiority through nationality” and that it sends a message that certain communities “are not to be celebrated or protected.” I’m sorry you see it in that light, but I’m not surprised. The current administration and others try to use our flag to divide people, claiming that it represents their values alone. I, a member of the loyal opposition, am having none of it. I frequently fly the flag at my home. To me, it represents the unity of the 50 states, the bravery of those in the 13 original colonies, the various fights for freedom over the past 249 years, and the many benefits accruing from democracy.

The flag belongs to all U.S. citizens regardless of political persuasion; please join me in flying it proudly. Even better, let it inspire us to work towards the day in which threats to the Constitution are nothing but a distant memory.

Jeff Olson

Weybridge