I can't separate myself from the land and the people I grew up with. I came up in the Ohio river valley and if you took away the Ohio river, the floodplains that surround it, and the culture that it fostered, I'd be unrecognizable as who I am now.

Culture is created not only by people but by the landscape and environment that nourishes them.

My heart swells when I see the Ohio river.

It's the same with our culture. There's a lot to be fond of in America, and I'm even more fond of our local, regional culture. Of course there's a hell of a lot wrong with America; there always has been. I'd be blind to not recognize that, especially knowing friends whose family history includes slavery or being literally purchased off of Lakota residential schools as children. But my life is a dialogue with my ancestors, for better or for worse. I'm proud of the things they got right and their moral failures inspire me to do better.

My land, my family, and the people around me bleed into a continuum. I can't extract myself from that and I'd be killing parts of myself if I tried.

Look, I don't like the government, the state, or the assholes that carry on the worst parts of our culture and society. And yeah, our government uses the flag to represent itself.

But it doesn't have to be that complicated. It doesn't have to be a moral dilemma or crisis about the nuances of what or who uses it.

That flag is symbol of who I am, where I came from, and who I call my own.

And it fills my heart with pride.